Protector
by Redonkgirl99
Summary: Scarlett Williams: Rory's little sister, Amy's best friend, And all together normal. At least, that's what she says. And lets be honest, when is anything in Doctor Who "Normal." 11 Doctor/OC
1. Chapter 1

**I re-did it in a better format and I realize my writing was a lot worse a year ago. **

Amy Pond was mad, it wasn't that new, she _was _from Scotland. She was mad this man who was insisting that he was the Doctor from the childhood and making her confused. Amelia Pond did **not** like being confused, so she took this psychopath's tie and locked it in a car door. She was in shock of the fact this mad had the apple she had given him from 12 years ago, when her best-friend, Scarlett, came running up and yelled

"Hey Amy, did you see the sky- oooh." She ended when she saw The Doctor shut in a car door, she stood there thinking for a second then said as if choosing her words carefully

"Should I fear for this man's life or should I go break the news to Rory."

"Neither, Scarlett this is the Doctor." Amy said while unlocking the car door so the Doctor could get out, Scarlett's eyes widened comically and she said

"You're the Raggedy Doctor Amy used to go on about." Amy blushed and turned to the Doctor and asked

"What do we need to do?"

"Stop that nurse." The Doctor responded while running after Rory,

"What's going on?" Scarlett asked while she and Amy chased after The Doctor

"The earth's going to be incinerated in 17 minutes, unless we show the aliens where prisoner zero is who also happens to be a shape-shifter, problem?"

"Sounds good." Scarlett chuckled when the caught up to the Doctor and Rory.

"Amy! Scarlett!" Rory yelled out relief of not being alone with a crazy man asking about why he was taking a picture of a man and a dog.

"This is my brother Rory." Scarlett said with a nod towards said brother

"And he's my friend." Amy finished

"Boyfriend." Rory corrected

"Sort of." Amy re-corrected

"Amy!" Rory said slightly outraged

"Time and a place, you two." Scarlett said while rolling her eyes

"Man and a dog, why?" The Doctor asked trying to veer of the topic of Rory's relationship with Amy

"Oh, my gosh. It's him, Amy." Rory said starting to have a, for lack of a better term, surprise attack. Amy turned red while hissing at Rory

"Just answer his question, please."

"It's him though! The Doctor, The Raggedy Doctor!"

"Yeah he came back." Amy said impatiently, Scarlett rolled her eyes and muttered to the Doctor

"And they wonder why I went travelling without inviting them." The Doctor chuckled and then yelled at Rory

"Man and a dog! Why! Tell me! Now!" Rory got a flustered look on his face and replied stutteringly

"Sorry! Because, he can't be there, because, he's." And the Doctor finished the sentence with him

"In a hospital, in a coma."

Then The Doctor went into psycho, child mood. "Knew it! Multiform, you see, Disguise itself as anything, but it needs a life-feed, a psychic link, but dormant-" The Doctor proceeded to poke Rory's head "-mind."

Then Scarlett, the Doctor, Amy and Rory towards the sound of both the man and the dog barking, The Doctor walked forward smugly

"Prisoner Zero." Rory turned to Amy

"There's a Prisoner Zero too?"

Scarlett rolled her eyes, for the second time in 5 minutes and said sarcastically to Rory "No." and ignored Rory when he stuck his tongue out at her.

Suddenly A giant ship containing a huge eyeball looking around the entirety of Leadworth, The Doctor turned smugly to Prisoner Zero

"See, that ship up there is scanning for non-terrestrial technology," The Doctor slyly took his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket

"And nothing says non-terrestrial like a sonic screwdriver!" The Doctor proceeded to make things explode with his sonic, until it burnt out.

"NO, NO,NO, NO! Don't DO that." As the Atraxi started to leave, The Doctor yelled after them

"NO, DON'T GO, HE'S HERE PRIOSNER ZERO IS HERE!" As he did that prisoner Zero melted down the drain, Amy talked to the still yelling Doctor

"Doctor! The drain, it just… sort of, melted and went down the drain." The Doctor gave her a look and said

"Of course he did." Amy, slightly miffed by The Doctor's look of derision asked rather loudly

"Well, what do we do now?!" The Doctor was not impressed by Amy's exclamation

"It's hiding in human form we need to drive it into the open. No Tardis, no screwdriver, seventeen minutes, come on... THINK! THINK!"

"So that thing, that hid my house for 12 years?" Amy asked the Doctor, faintly disgusted.

"Multiforms can live for millennia. 12 years is just a pit stop."

"So how come you show up again on the same day that lot do? The same minute?" Amy asked suspiciously

"They're looking for him they saw me through the crack, got a fix, they're only late 'cause I am."

"What's he on about?" Rory asked suspiciously,

"Nurse boy, gimme your phone." The Doctor said impatiently to Rory,

"How can he be real? He was never real!" Rory insisted to Amy and Scarlett

"Phone! Now! Gimme!" The Doctor yelled at Rory, Scarlett rolled her eyes, took Rory's phone and handed it to The Doctor,

"Thank you." He said appreciatively,

"It was just a game, we were- we were kids, you made me dress up as him!" Rory said, freaking out a bit,

"These photos, they're all coma patients?" The Doctor asked Rory

"Yep." Rory responded, still slightly freaked out,

"No. They're all the multiform. Eight comas, eight disguises for prisoner Zero." The Doctor explained

"He had a dog, though," Amy said "there's a dog in a coma?"

"Well, the coma patient dreams he's walking a dog, Prisoner Zero gets a dog. Laptop!" The Doctor shouted suddenly looking at Amy "Your friend, what his name, not him, the good- looking him!"

"Thanks." Rory said sarcastically "Jeff." Amy said shooting a quick look at Scarlett, who made a look of disgust, "Ohh, thanks." Rory stated again then he muttered "Not only do you insult me; you insult me with that pervert."

"He had a laptop in his bag, a laptop. Big bag, biiig laptop! I need Jeff's laptop! You three, get to the hospital. Get everyone out of that ward, clear the floor; phone me when you're done!" The Doctor shouted while running off, Scarlett grabbed Rory and Amy and said to the earlier

"Your car, come on." "Uh... but how can he be here? How can the Doctor be here?!" Rory asked; still in shock.

"Hello!" The Doctor said bursting into Jeff's room

"Laptop! Gimme!" The Doctor tried to take the laptop from Jeff, when he finally succeeded and saw the screen his eye's widened

"Blimey! Get a girlfriend, Jeff!"

"I'm working on it." Jeff replied embarrassedly

"Gran!"

"What are you doing?" Jeff's grandmother asked

"Suns gone wibbly," The Doctor said "so right now, somewhere out there, there's gonna be a big old video conference call. All the experts in the world, panicking at once, and d'you know what they need? Me. Ah, and here they all are. All the big boys. NASA, Jodrell Bank, Tokyo Space Center, Patrick Moore."

"Oh I like Patrick Moore!" Jeff's grandmother stated

"I'll get you his number, but watch him, he's a devil.

"You can't just hack in a call like that!" Jeff stated incredulously

"Can't I?" The Doctor said smugly

"Who are you," said an unidentified genius "This is a secure call, what are you doing?"

"Hello. Yeah, I know, you should switch me off, but before you do, watch this." The Doctor said to all of them and then started typing like a crazy person, then everyone started talking at once saying things like

"It's him!" and "I know!"

"Fermat's Theorem, the proof, and I mean the real one, never been seen before, poor Fermat got killed in a duel before he could write it down. My fault. I slept in. Oh, and here's an oldie but a goodie, why electrons have mass, and a personal favorite of mine, faster than light travel with two diagrams and a joke. Look at your screens. Whoever I am, I'm a genius. Look at the sun. You need all the help you can get. Fellas - pay attention."

Scarlett, Amy and Rory hopped out of the car and ran into the hospital.

"Sir what are you doing?" asked another Unidentified genius

"I am writing a computer virus," The Doctor said "very clever, super-fast, and a tiny bit alive, but don't let on. And why am I writing it on a phone? Never mind. You'll find out. Okay, I'm sending this to all your computers. Get everyone who works for you sending this everywhere. Email, text, Facebook, Bebo, Twitter, radar dish. Whatever you've got, any questions?"

"Who was you lady friend?" Patrick Moore asked the Doctor smiling

"Patrick, behave." The Doctor said with a look

"What does this virus do?" the unidentified genius asked,

"Oh, it's a reset command, that's all, it resets counters, it gets in the Wi-Fi and resets every counter it can find. Clocks, calendars, anything with a chip will default at zero at exactly the same time. But yeah, I could be lying, why should you trust me? I'll let my best man explain." The Doctor stated, it went silent while the Doctor waited for Jeff to start

"Jeff. You're my best man."

"You're WHAT?" Jeff asked confusedly, Doctor closed the laptop and turned to Jeff,

"Listen to me. In ten minutes, you're gonna be a legend. In ten minutes, everyone on that screen is gonna be offering you any job you want. But first, you have to be magnificent. You have to make them trust you and get them working. This is it, Jeff, right here, right now. This is when you fly. Today's the day you save the world." Jeff looked dumbstruck

"… Why me?" Jeff asked,

"It's your bedroom. Now, go, go, go." The Doctor then ran out of Jeff's room

"Okay guys, let's do this." Jeff said to the geniuses

"Oh  
and Jeff," The Doctor said when he ran back in his room "Delete your internet history."

"Uh, something's happened there, we can't get through." Rory told Amy and Scarlett

"Yes but what happened?" Scarlett asked impatiently

"Um, I don't know. No one knows. Phone him." Rory said the last part directed to Amy who dialed his number.

"Doctor," Amy said into the phone "We're at the hospital, but we can't get through… oh"

"What did he say?" Scarlett asked Amy

"Look in the mirror." Amy replied and looked over

"OH, HAHA! Uniform." Scarlett took the phone from Amy and held it to her ear while Amy tied her hair back

"Are you on your way?" You're gonna need a car."

"Don't worry, I commandeered a vehicle." The Doctor said to Amy as he turned the siren on in the Fire Truck he stole.

"Officer!" a woman with two daughters called to Amy,

"What happened?" Amy asked ignoring Scarlett's wary look at the woman

"There was a man. A man with a dog. I think Doctor Ramsden's dead, and the nurses." The woman replied, Scarlett grabbed her phone and called The Doctor

"Are you in?" The Doctor asked her

"Yes, But so is Prisoner Zero." Scarlett replied

"You need to get out of there."

"He was so angry, he kept shouting and that dog. The size of that dog. I swear it was rabid and he just went mad, attacking everyone. Where did he go? Did you see? Has he gone? We hid in the ladies." the little girl said… in the woman's voice. Scarlett grabbed Amy and Rory's hands and pulled them back.

"Oh, I'm getting it wrong again, aren't I? I'm always doing that, so many mouths." Then the "Woman" and her "Daughters" opened their mouths wide and showed his huge pointy teeth.

"Scarlett? Scarlett, what's happening?" Scarlett grabbed her brother's and her friend's hand and they ran down into the coma ward. Rory slammed the door and put a broom through the handles,

"Scarlett! Talk to me." Scarlett put the phone to her ear and said

"We're in the coma ward, but it's here, getting in."

"Which window?" The Doctor asked, Scarlett smiled and said

"First floor on the left, fourth from the end."

Then Prisoner Zero broke through the door still in woman and daughters form, they pulled their teeth back in

"Oh dear, little Amelia Pond. I've watched you grow up. Twelve years, and you never even knew I was there. Little Amelia Pond. Waiting for her magic Doctor to return. But not this time, Amelia, and you," she said turning to Scarlett "So many secrets, and always running always hiding." Rory and Amy turned to look at Scarlett confusedly and saw her glaring at Prisoner Zero, Scarlett looked down at the phone, smiled and pulled down Amy and Rory just as a ladder came crashing through the window, The Doctor climbed up the ladder and hooped in the room and he put his arms over Amy and Scarlett's shoulders, earning a look from Rory,

"Right! Hello! Am I late? Three minutes to go. There's still time." Doctor said with a smile "Time for what, Time Lord?" The Doctor walked forward a couple steps "Take the disguise off, they'll find you in a heartbeat, nobody dies."

"The Atraxi will kill me this time. If I am to die, let there be fire." Prisoner Zero replied

"Okay, You came to this world by opening a crack in space and time. Do it again. Just leave." The Doctor said

"I did not open the crack." Zero said

"Somebody did."

"The cracks in the skin of the universe - don't you know where they came from? You don't, do you?" Then she spoke in a child's voice

"The Doctor in the TARDIS doesn't know," The she said in a singsong voice "Doesn't know, doesn't know!" Then the mother's voice spoke again

"The universe is cracked. The Pandorica will open. Silence will fall." Then a strange flicking sound started and the Doctor said

"Aaaand, we're off. Look at that." The Doctor pointed at the clock in the corner, it said 0:00.

"Yeah, I know, just a clock, whatever, but d'you know what's happening right now? In one little bedroom, my team are working. Jeff and the world. And, d'you know what they're doing? They're spreading the word. All over the world. Quantum fast. The word is out. And do you know what the word is? The word is zero. Now, me, if I was up in the sky in a battleship, monitoring all Earth communications, I'd probably take that as a hint. And if I had a whole battle fleet surrounding the planet, I'd be able to track a simple old computer virus to its source in... what, under a minute? The source, by the way... is right here." The Doctor finished and pulled out Rory's phone "Ooooohhhhh and I think they just found us!" Amy, Rory and Scarlett ran to the window and looked outside to see the Atraxi ship over the hospital.

"The Atraxi are limited. While I'm in this form, they'll still be unable to detect me. They've tracked a phone. Not me." Prisoner Zero replied, The Doctor smiled and said

"Yeah! But this is the good bit, I mean, this is my favorite bit. Do you know what this phone is full of? Pictures of you. Every form you've learned to take, right here. Oh, and, being uploaded, about... now. And the final score is, no TARDIS, no screwdriver, two minutes to spare... Who da man?!" Prisoner Zero, Rory and Amy gave him a look while Scarlett snorted and kept looking out the window,

"...Oh. Well. I'm just, never saying that again. Fine." The Doctor said embarrassedly

"Then I shall take a new form." Prisoner Zero stated "Oh, stop it, you know you can't. Takes months to form that kind of psychic link."

"And I've had years."

Then Prisoner Zero glowed orange, and Amy collapsed.

"No! Amy! You've got to hold on! Amy! Don't sleep! You've gotta stay awake, please!" The Doctor yelled at her,

"Doctor!" Scarlett shouted and pointed at prisoner Zero, who now looked like the Doctor

"...Well that's rubbish. Who's that supposed to be?" The Doctor asked

"It's you." Scarlett said while rolling her eyes

"Me?" he asked shocked "Is that what I look like?"

"You don't know?" Rory asked, annoyed

"Busy day," He replied "Why me, though? You're linked with her! Why are you copying me?"

"I'm not." Prisoner Zero said in young Amy's voice and a young Amy stepped out behind the fake Doctor holding his hand "Poor Amy Pond. Still such a child inside. Dreaming of the magic Doctor she knows will return to save her. What a disappointment you've been." Prisoner Zero stated. The Doctor paused then said

"No, she's dreaming about me cause she can hear me." And he ran over to Amy "Amy. Don't just hear me, listen. Remember the room, the room in your house you couldn't see. Remember you went inside, I tried to stop you but you did. You went in the room. You went inside. Amy... dream about what you saw" And then Prisoner Zero turned into its true form.

"Well done, Prisoner Zero. A perfect impersonation of yourself." The Doctor said happily then a light came through the window and a loud voice called

"Prisoner Zero is located. Prisoner Zero is restrained." The Atraxi said, then prisoner Zero faced the Doctor and said ominously

"Silence, Doctor. Silence will fall." Then it was gone, The Doctor grabbed Rory's phone and started dialing rapidly

"The- the Sun, is back to normal, right? That's... That's good, yeah? That means it's over." Rory stuttered Amy then started to wake up "Amy? Are you okay? Are you with us?" Rory asked her

"What happened." Was her reply

"He did it. The Doctor did it." Scarlett said with a smile,

"No I didn't." The Doctor said

"What are you doing?" Rory asked him

"Tracking the signal back. Sorry, in advance." He replied

"About what?"

"The bill." Was The Doctors answer, Then the Doctor said into the phone

"Oi! I didn't say you could go! Article 57 of the Shadow Proclamation. This is a fully established level five planet. And you were gonna burn it? What? Did you think no one was watching? You lot. Back here, now." Then he threw the Phone to Rory "Okay. Now I've done it." And he walked off

"Uh, did he just bring them back?" Rory asked "Did he just save the world from aliens, and then bring all the aliens back again?!"

Amy and Scarlett walked after the Doctor and Rory ran to catch up,

"Where are you going?" Amy asked the Doctor

"The roof." He stated "No! Hang on!" then he ran into the locker room and started to throw around clothes

"What's in here?" Amy asked confusedly

"I'm saving the world, I need a decent shirt! To hell with the raggedy - time to put on a show." He said while twirling with a shirt then throwing it for Rory to catch it,

"You've just summoned aliens back to Earth! Actual aliens! Deadly aliens! Aliens... of death, and... now you're... taking your clothes off." Rory said confusedly "Amy, he's taking his clothes off."

"Turn your back if it embarrasses you." The Doctor said unconcernedly

"Are you stealing clothes now? Those clothes belong to people.. you know!" Rory said shakily to the Doctor and then turns around "Are you two gonna turn around?" He asked them

"Nope." Amy and Scarlett replied simultaneously.

The Doctor sauntered on the rooftop

"So, this was a good idea, was it? They were leaving!" Amy shouted at him

"Leaving is good. Never coming back is better, Come oooooooon then! The Doctor will see you now!" He shouted at the Atraxi, then the giant eyeball swooped down and scanned the Doctor

"You are not of this world."

"No, but I've put a lot of work into it." He then holds up a tie to the eyeball "Umm... uhh... I dunno. What do you think?"

"Is this world important?" The eyeball replied, not amused.

"Important?! What does that mean, important? Six billion people live here, is that important? Here's a better question: is this world a threat to the Atraxi?Come on, you're monitoring the whole planet. Is this world a threat?" He shouted at them, Then a blue light came from the pupil of the eye showing the history of the earth,

"...No." Said the eyeball

"Are the people of this world guilty of any crime by the laws of the Atraxi?" The  
Doctor asked smugly, it showed more history,

"No."

"Okay! One more! Is this world protested?" The Doctor asked the eyeball with a smile, then Cybermen, Daleks, _Empressof the Racnoss, And so many more, _

_"_Cause you're not the first lot to have come here. Oh, there have been SO many. And what you've got to ask is... what happened to them?" Then it showed pictures of every regeneration of The Doctor until right after his ninth there was someone he didn't' know, a woman by the look of her curves with a black body suit on and a black motorcycle helmet shooting at the camera, then it went to his tenth and he stepped through the hologram and said

"Hello. I'm the Doctor… Basically… Run." The eyeball shook in terror and flew back to its ship that flew away quickly. Then the Doctor reached into his coat pocket and reached out the glowing Tardis key.

"Is that it? Is that them gone for good? Who were they?" Amy asked the Doctor, but he was already gone.

Amy and Scarlett lay in her bed,

"I'm glad you came back for the wedding." Amy said with a smile towards her best friend,

"How could I miss it?" Scarlett said with a smile. Then they both went quite when they heard the Tardis engine go off. They both ran outside, in there nighties.

"Sorry about running off earlier! Brand new TARDIS, bit exciting! Just had a quick hop to the Moon and back to run her in. She's ready for the big stuff now." The Doctor said with a smile at the two girls

"...It's you. You came back." Amy said shocked

"Course I came back. I always come back. Something wrong with that?" The Doctor said

"And you kept the clothes?" Scarlett said chuckling

"Well, I just saved the world. The whole planet, for about the millionth time, no charge, yeah. Shoot me. I kept the clothes." The Doctor said slightly annoyed,

"Including the bow-tie." Amy said with a look,

"Yeah. It's cool. Bow-ties are cool." The Doctor stated

"Are you from another planet?" Amy said jokingly

"Yeah." He said

"Okay…" Amy said unbelievably

"So what do you think?" The Doctor said to both Amy and Scarlett

"What?" Amy asked

"Other planets, wanna check some out?"

"What does that mean?" Amy asked curiously

"It means, well, it means... come with me. You too." He said, the last part to Scarlett.

"All that stuff that happened, the hospital, the spaceships, Prisoner Zero" Amy started

"Oh, don't worry, that's just the beginning, there's loads more." He said with a smile

"Yeah but those things, those... amazing things, all that stuff." Amy continued

"That was two YEARS ago!" Scarlett finished for her friend

"Ohhhhh, oops." The Doctor said looking distressed

"Yeah." Amy stated

"So that's.." The Doctor started

"14 years!" Amy said sounding very angry

"Fourteen years since fish custard. Amy Pond. The girl who waited, you've waited long enough." The Doctor said with a smile

"...When I was a kid, you said there was a swimming pool. And a library and the swimming pool was in the library." Amy said suspiciously

"Yeah. Not sure where it's got to now, it'll turn up! So! Coming?" The Doctor said happily

"No." Amy said

"You wanted to come fourteen years ago." The Doctor said; wounded.

"I grew up." Amy stated evenly

"Don't worry. I'll soon fix that." The Doctor said then he snapped his fingers and the doors of the Tardis opened and the three of them stepped in. Amy and Scarlett looked around in wonder at the huge room,

"Well? Anything you wanna say? Any passing remarks? I've heard them all." The Doctor said while jumping around the console

"We're in our nighties." Amy said.

"Oh, don't worry! Plenty of clothes in the wardrobe. And, possibly, a swimming pool. So! All of time, and space, everything that ever happened or that ever will. Where do you wanna start?" The Doctor said with a smile

"You are so sure that we're coming." Amy said challengingly

"Woahhh don't drag me into this I'm going whether you are our not." Scarlett said with a smile

"Yeah I am." The Doctor said answering Amy's question,

"Why?" Amy asked

"Cause you're the Scottish girl, in the English village, and I know how that feels."

"Oh, do you?" Amy asked

"Well, all these years living here, most of your life, and you've still got that accent. Yeah, you're coming."

"Can you get us back for tomorrow morning?" Scarlett asked The Doctor nonchalantly,

"It's a time machine. I can get you back for five minutes ago. Why? What's tomorrow?" The Doctor asked curiously

"Nothing. Nothing! Just, you know. Stuff." Amy said, a little too panicky

"All right, then. Back in time for 'stuff'." The Doctor said, then a new sonic screwdriver came out of the console, the Doctor took it and muttered

"Thanks, love."

"Why us?" Scarlett asked

"Why not?"

"No, seriously. You are asking us to run away with you in the middle of the night, I should be a bit wary." She insisted

"Dunno! Fun! Do I have to have a reason?" The Doctor said trying to make her let it go

"Yeah, kinda do. People tend to" Scarlett said The Doctor turned and looked down at her, she was a good 6 inches shorter

"Do I look like people?" he asked, think that his stare would put her off

"Yes." She said without breaking eye contact. He sighed and turned away

"Been knocking around on my own for a while, my choice, but I've started talking to myself, all the time, it's giving me earache."

"You're lonely. That's it. Just that." Amy said feeling sad that he didn't say because he loved her and wanted to run away with her or whatever.

"Just that. Promise."

"Okay." Amy stated

"So you're okay then? Cause this place. Sometimes it can make people feel a bit... you know."

"I'm fine. Fine. It's just... there's a whole world in here, just like you said. It's all true. I thought, well, I'd, I'd started to think that maybe you were just like a... madman with a box." Amy said laughing

"Amy Pond, there's something you better understand about me, you too Scarlett, cause it's important, and one day, your life may depend on it. I am definitely a madman with a box." All three of them laughed and the Doctor pulled down the leaver and shouted

"Ha haa, yes! Goodbye, Leadworth! Hello... everything!" and none of them noticed it.

The crack exactly like the one on Amy's wall


	2. Chapter 2

The Beast Below

Scarlett laughed and said "I'm being held in the middle of FREAKING space!" The Doctor laughed loudly and said "Come on you two." And he pulled Scarlett in first, she promptly tripped and The Doctor had to catch her which distracted him to Amy who he pulled in but not enough; she had to hold on to the top. "You okay?" The Doctor asked "Yeah, um, could you let me, um, go?" Scarlett asked awkwardly to the Doctor, who had her pressed up against him holding her waist; The Doctor went comically red and let her go, "Yeah sure." He muttered still blushing. "Um, Doctor?" Amy called; seething that the Doctor had held Scarlett like that, but, being a jealous girl, she was mad at Scarlett. "Now that's interesting," The Doctor said trying to cover his embarrassment at holding Scarlett, and the fact he had enjoyed having her so close to him. "29th Century. Solar flares roast the earth, and the entire human race packs its bags and moves out till the weather improves. Whole nations..." "Doctor?" Amy called again "Migrating to the stars." The Doctor continued, looking at Scarlett out of the corner of his eyes, Scarlett was messing around with a cable on the TARDIS. "Doctor, it can't be good to have any exposed cables, even on a spaceship." The Doctor rolled his eyes and pushed the cables away from her hands and said "Isn't that amazing?" "DOCTOR" Amy called one more time and the Doctor finally looked away from Scarlett to see Amy hanging on to the top of the TARDIS. "Well, come on. I've found us a spaceship." The Doctor said unconcernedly "This is the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland, all of it, bolted together and floating in the sky." The Doctor said, Amy gasped while Scarlett let out a low whistle. "Starship UK. It's Britain, but metal. That's not just a ship, that's an idea. That's a whole country, living and laughing and... Shopping." The Doctor said; smiling "Lots and lots of shopping." Scarlett chuckled looking over at Amy who hmpff-ed and turned away. " Searching the stars for a new home." The Doctor said; not noticing the tension building between Amy and Scarlett. "Can we go and see?" Amy asked trying her hardest to be alluring looking "Course we can, but first, there's a thing." "A thing?" Amy asked

"An important thing. In fact, thing one;" The Doctor started and looked at Scarlett and Amy through a magnifying glass "we are observers only. That's the one rule I've always stuck to in all my travels. I never get involved in the affairs of other peoples or planets." He then noticed the screen and exclaimed "OOOH that's interesting!" "So we're like a wildlife documentary, yeah? 'Cause if they see a wounded little cub or something, they can't just save it, they've got to keep filming and let it die." Amy said sadly "That's got to be hard. I don't think I could do that. Don't you find that hard, being all, like, detached and cold?" Then the Doctor appeared on the screen and tried to talk to the little girl who ran away, he than waved at the screen to tell them to come out. Amy and Scarlett ran out of the TARDIS looked around "I'm in the future. Like hundreds of years in the future. I've been dead for centuries!" Amy said in shock "Oh, lovely. You're a cheery one." The Doctor said "Never mind dead, look at this place. Isn't it wrong?" He said it looking at Amy not noticing Scarlett's eyes were shut in deep concentration "Come on, use your eyes, notice everything. What's wrong with this picture?" "Is it... the bicycles? Bit unusual on a spaceship, bicycles." Amy guessed haltingly, trying to prove herself. "Says the girl in the nightie" The Doctor said chuckling "Oh, my God, were in our nighties!" Amy said noticing Scarlett's concentration; The Doctor chuckled then said "Now, come on, look around you. Actually look. Life on a giant starship: back to basics. Bicycles, washing lines, wind-up street lamps. But, look closer. Secrets and shadows. Lives led in fear. Society bent out of shape, on the brink of collapse. A police state." "Excuse me." Scarlett said abruptly and walked over to two people sitting at a table and took a glass of water from them and put it on the ground, studied it for a minute, gave it back and said "Sorry. Checking all the water in this area. There's an escaped fish." The Doctor was smiling a big grin at Scarlett and he stated "I like you Scarlett Williams!" And gave her a one arm hug, which Amy pouted at. "Why did she just do that with the water?" Amy asked the Doctor "Don't know. Now, police state, do you see it yet?" The Doctor said to Amy, "Where?" "There." The Doctor said pointing at the little girl crying. Scarlett, Amy and the Doctor sat down on a bench a couple benches away from the little girl "One little girl crying. So?" Amy asked insensitively, "Crying silently," the Doctor corrected "I mean, children cry 'cause they want attention, 'cause they're hurt or afraid. When they cry silently, it's 'cause they just can't stop. Any parent knows that." "Are you a parent?" Scarlett asked softly, the Doctor paused and considered telling Scarlett about everything, his planet, his wife, his children, but then shook his head and cleared that though out of his mind. "Hundreds of parents walking past this spot and not one of them asking her what's wrong, which means they already know, and it's something they don't talk about. Secrets. They're not helping her, so it's something they're afraid of. " Scarlett looked warily at the creepy smilers. "Shadows - whatever they're afraid of - it's nowhere to be seen... which means it's everywhere. Police state." "Where'd she go?" Amy asked surprised-ly, "Deck 27, Apple Sesame block, dwelling 54A. You're looking for Mandy Tanner. Oh, uh," The Doctor pulled out a colorful wallet "this fell out of her pocket when I accidentally bumped into her. Took me four goes. Ask her about those things: the smiling fellows in the booths. They're everywhere." He passed Amy the wallet "But they're just things." Amy said challenging-ly , Scarlett rolled her eyes and the Doctor chuckled at Scarlett and said "They're clean. Everything else here is battered and filthy - look at this place. But no one's laid a finger on those booths. Not a footprint within two feet of any of them. Look, ask Mandy, "Why are people scared of the things in the booths?" "No. Hang on. What do I do? I don't know what I'm doing here and I'm not even dressed!" Amy said, not wanting to leave the Doctor. "It's this or Leadworth. What do you think? Let's see. What will Amy Pond choose?" the Doctor said chuckling, Amy looked indignant "Ha ha, gotcha! Meet us back here in half an hour." "Sorry, us?" Scarlett asked with raised eyebrows, "You're the one who checked the glass of water, not me." The Doctor said turning around to walk off, Scarlett made a face and walked after him, "What are you going to do?" Amy said with annoyance, "What I always do: stay out of trouble." The Doctor stated "Badly." Scarlett called back "So is this how it works, Doctor?" Scarlett asked "You never interfere in the affairs of other peoples or planets... unless there's children crying?" the Doctor smiled melancholy- ly "Yes."

Amy walked around the ship, looking for the girl and drowning in self- undeserved- pity; her childhood friend who's supposed to love her was instead giving attention to her annoying, stupid (In reality Scarlett was sweet, funny, and downright brilliant) friend and all she got was a fiancée who completely adored her. Where's the fairness in that? Amy turned the corner to hear a small girl say "You're following me." Amy turned around quickly "Saw you watching me at the marketplace." Amy looked at Mandy and tightly said "You dropped this." "Yeah when your friend kept bumping into me." Mandy said and walked off; Amy smiled and followed her, "What's that?" Amy asked Mandy looking at the tent that covered god knows what. "There's a hole, we have to go back." "A what? A hole?" Amy asked confused "Are you stupid? There's a whole in the road." Amy walked towards it "We can't go that way." Mandy insisted "There's a travel pipe by the airlocks, if you've got stamps. What are you doing? Mandy asked when Amy walked through the gate to the tent "Oh don't mind me. Never could resist a keep out sign. What's through there?" Amy asked curiously "What's so scary about a hole?" "Something under the road." Mandy said nervously "Nobody knows. We're not supposed to talk about it." Mandy casted a glance towards the Smiler. "About what?" Amy asked while looking at a lock "Below." Mandy said "Ad because you're not supposed to, you don't?" Amy asked disappointedly "Watch and learn." Amy said and pulled out a bobby pin to pick the lock. "You sound Scottish." Mandy stated "I am Scottish, what's wrong with that? Scotland's got to be here somewhere." Amy said concentrating on the lock "No they wanted their own ship." Mandy said uncomfortably "Good for them, nothing changes." "So, how did you get here?" Mandy asked, not noticing the Smiler's head change "Oh just passing through, you know, with two people." "Are they together?" Mandy asked crinkling her nose, "Oh No! They've only just met." Amy said feeling jealousy building again "Sure didn't look like it… Do you have a boyfriend?" Mandy asked curiously "Oh," "What?" Mandy asked "Nothing, it's just… I'm getting married. Funny how things slip your mind." "Married?" Mandy asked surprised-ly "Yeah, uh, married. Really actually married. Almost definitely." Amy said looking a little sick "When?" Mandy asked sweetly "Well it's kind of weird. A long time ago, tomorrow morning. I wonder what I did." Amy trailed off but came back to her senses when the lock popped open "Hey-Hey Result!" the Amy turned around "Coming?" "No!" Mandy said angrily "Suit yourself." "Stop! You mustn't do that!" Mandy said; scared of the Smiler who became an evil face. Amy walked into the tent and looked around, there was a flashing light and a slithering sound, She found a flashlight and turned it on, to see a giant tentacle-like thing sticking out of the ground. "Oh my god! That's weird. That's…" then the tentacle almost hit Amy, Amy backed out of the tent quickly and saw four men in black cloaks around her, one of them lifted his hand and sprayed a gas out of his ring that made her fall asleep.

The Doctor and Scarlett went down a ladder into an engine room, they both exchanged a look and walked down to the wall, they both put their ears to it so they could look at each other, "Can't be." Scarlett muttered, The Doctor pulled his sonic out and pointed it at the wall. "Doctor…" Scarlett said while looking at a single glass of water on the ground, the Doctor laid on the ground to look at the glass, "The impossible truth in a glass of water." The Doctor and Scarlett's heads popped up to see a woman wearing a mask "Not many people see it. But you two do, don't you, Doctor, Scarlett." "You know me?" the Doctor said while Scarlett asked "How the hell do you know who I am?" the Doctor walked around to the side of the woman so he didn't catch the woman's wink and Scarlett's subtle nod. "Keep your voice down. They're everywhere. Tell me what you see in the glass." "What makes you think we see anything?" "Don't waste time, at the marketplace, she place a glass of water on the floor, looked at it, and then came straight here to the engine room. Why?" "No engine vibration on deck." Scarlett stated "Ship this size, engine this big, you'd feel it." The Doctor smiled softly when he thought neither of the women would notice, the masked one did. "The water would move." Scarlett finished "So… I thought I'd take a look." The Doctor finished, he walked over to the cable boxes and opened them "It doesn't make sense. These power couplings aren't connected. Look," He pulled out cables that didn't connect "They're dummies, see?" "And behind the wall, nothing it's hollow." Scarlett added "If I didn't know better I'd say there was…"

"No engine at all." All three of them said

"But it's working." The Doctor argued "This ship is traveling through space, we saw it." "The impossible truth, Doctor." The masked woman said "We're traveling among the stars. In a spaceship that could never fly." "How?" Scarlett asked "I don't know. There's a darkness at the heart of this nation. It threatens every one of us. Help us, Doctor and Scarlett. You're our only hope. Your friend is safe; this will take you to her, now go! Quickly!" The masked woman gave the Doctor an odd looking devise and started walking away "Who are you?" the Doctor called after her "How do I find you again?" she turned around and said "I am Liz 10, and I will find you." Then there was a crashing sound and the light blinked, the Doctor and Scarlett looked away from Liz 10 for a second and when they turned to her again, she was gone.

Amy woke in a small room on a plush black chair a voice came over an intercom saying "Welcome to voting cubicle 330c. Please leave this installation as you would wish to find it." Amy walked around the room franticly, and then she noticed the T.V. screens and a man talking in on it "The United Kingdom recognizes the right to know of all its citizens, a presentation concerning the history of starship UK will begin shortly." Amy studied the buttons on the panel one said Protest one said Record and Forget. "Your identity is being verified on our electoral roll." Then the machine said "Name: Amelia Jessica Pond, Age: 1306." "Shut up." Amy said laughing "Marital Status:" Amy leaned forward "Unknown." Then a man came on the screen and said "You are here because you want to know the truth about this starship and I'm talking to you because you're entitled to know. When this presentation has finished, you will have a choice. You may protest or forget. If you choose to protest, understand this; if just 1% of the population of this ship does likewise, the program will be discontinued, with consequences for you all. If you choose to accept the situation, and we hope that you will, then press the forget button, all the information I am about to give you will be erased from your memory. You will continue to enjoy the safety and amenities of starship UK unburdened by the knowledge of what have been done to save you. Here then is the truth about Starship UK and the price that has been paid for the safety of the British people. May God have mercy on our souls." Images started flashing in front of Amy's eyes and then she found her hand on the forget button she had tears on her face she felt them confusedly, then she noticed the screen flashing and saying

"Message waiting."

Then a video of a crying Amy started "This isn't a trick this is for real, you've got to find the Doctor and get him back in the TARDIS don't let him investigate, stop him. Do whatever you have to, just please, please get the Doctor of this ship!" Amy yelled at herself, then suddenly the door open to show the Doctor, Scarlett and Mandy. "Amy?" the Doctor asked, Amy turned off her replaying message "What have you done?" The Doctor asked, Amy studied the screen.

The Doctor flashed his sonic at the lights "Yeah, your basic memory wipe job. Must have erased about 20 minutes." "But why would I choose to forget?" Amy asked unhappily "'Cause everyone does." Mandy called from outside the booth "Everyone chooses the 'forget' button." The Doctor walked up to Mandy and asked "Did you?" "I'm not eligible to vote yet, I'm 12 any time after you're 16, you're allowed to see the film and make your choice and then once every five years." "And once every five years, everyone chooses to forget what they've learned? Democracy In action" Scarlett said snidely "Let me have a go." The Doctor and Amy turned to her surprised-ly "Are you sure?" the Doctor asked her nervously "It could be dangerous." "Danger? I laugh in the face of danger, Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha." The Doctor smiled and said "Okay. Come on Amy." they both left the room and just before the Doctor closed the door he said "Good luck." She saluted sarcastically. "Name: Scarlett Delilah Williams, Age:"

The Doctor leaned up against the door waiting.

"Marital Status: Married-""WHAT?" Scarlett yelled and jumped off the chair "To… Unknown." She sighed and plopped in her chair again.

The door opened to the voting booth, which was ominously empty. "Where'd she go?" Amy asked; terrified, "I don't know!" the Doctor said, feeling an odd terror. He soniced the computer and muttered "won't play for me." "It played for me." Amy stated "the difference being the computer doesn't accept me as human." "Why not?" the Doctor gave Amy a look "You look human." "No, you look Time lord, we came first." So there are other Time lords, Yeah?" Amy asked, wondering what kind of competition she had "No," the Doctor said sadly "There were, but there aren't… Just me now. Long story, there was a bad day. Bad stuff happened and you know what?" the Doctor asked starting to feel mad at Amy, mostly because he was unhappy he didn't know where Scarlett went, "I'd love to forget it all, every last bit of it. But I don't. Not ever. 'Cause this is what I do, every time, every day, every second. This." He stepped in front of the protest button "Hold tight. We're bringing down the government." Then he slammed the protest button, the door slammed shut and the Smiler turned evil. The Doctor pulled Amy to the corner and the floor opened up. "Say 'WHEEEE'" the Doctor said to Amy who started screaming. They fell down the shaft.

The light above the door changed from occupied to empty, Mandy turned around and gasped at the masked woman. "It's alright, Love." She said chuckling "It's only me."

The Doctor and Amy landed in a disgusting platform, "Hi." Scarlett said glumly "Ah, light-speed air cannon, lousy way to travel." The Doctor said chuckling "Where are we?" Amy asked disgusted "600 feet down. 20 miles lateral, puts us at the heart of the ship. I'd say… Lancashire. So, what's this then?" "It's a…This next word is a scary word so Amy deep breaths." Scarlett said to the both of them, Amy took some gulping breaths "It's a tongue." "A tongue?" a shocked Amy asked, "A great big tongue!" the Doctor said excitedly, "That isn't exactly a good thing." Scarlett said to the excited Doctor. "This is a mouth?" asked a still shocked Amy "This whole place is a mouth? WE'RE IN A MOUTH?" "Yes, Yes on the plus side; Roomy." The Doctor said not the least concerned about being in a mouth. "How do we get out?" Amy asked; terrified "How big is this Beastie? It's gorgeous!" the Doctor said; ignoring Amy's question, "Blimey! If this is just the mouth, I'd love to see the stomach." The last comment Scarlett face-palmed, suddenly there was a loud grunt sound and the Doctor whipped around and said "Though not right now." "Doctor, how do we get out?" Scarlett asked calmly "Okay, it's being fed through surgically implanted feeder tubes. So the normal entrance is… Closed for business." it would be impossible to get out through the giant teeth. "We could try, though!" Amy said "No! Stop Don't Move!" Scarlett yelled "too late it's started." The Doctor said grimly "What has?" Amy asked; annoyed Scarlett knew more than her. "Swallow reflex." The Doctor explained, "What are you doing?" Amy asked as the Doctor scanned the mouth with his sonic "I'm vibrating the chemo- receptors." "Chemo- what?" Amy asked "The eject button." "How does a mouth have an eject button?!" Amy asked enraged "Think about it." A slightly disgusted Scarlett stated, then a large amount of sick came rushing at them, "Right, then." The Doctor stated with his hair flying back "This isn't going to be big on dignity." He fixed his bow-tie; he grabbed Amy and Scarlett's hands and yelled "GERNIMO." "AGHHHH!" Amy and Scarlett yelled.

Amy woke in a strange tunnel feeling awful, she had been having a, frankly, _lovely_ dream about the Doctor. She saw the Doctor looking at a door and Scarlett leaning up against the wall watching "There's nothing broken, no sign of concussion, and, yes, you are covered in sick." Scarlett smiled grimly at Amy who simply looked away and asked "Where are we?" "Overspill pipe, I'd guess." "Oh, god, it stinks!" Amy yelled "That's not the pipe." A chuckling Scarlett said, Amy grimaced and smelled herself "Can we get out?" Amy asked the Doctor "One door, one switch one condition. We forget everything we saw, that's the carrot… Speaking of which, what's going on?" He asked Scarlett, she shook her head and said "Wiped my memory before sending me down the pipe." "OOH, here's the stick." The Doctor said changing the subject abruptly and walking to a Smiler tank, "There's a creature living in the heart of this ship," the Doctor yelled at the Smilers "What's it doing there?" the Smilers turned angry, Scarlett scoffed and said "That's not going to work on us, so come on. Big old beast below decks and everyone who protests gets shoved down its throat, is that how it works?" during the whole declaration the Doctor was looking at he in awe, he was usually the instigator. The Smiler turned evil Scarlett rolled her eyes and said "Oh, stop it!" the Doctor took that moment to add "We're not leaving and we're not forgetting and what are you fellows gonna to do about it? Stick out your tongues?" Then the booths the Smilers were in opened and the Smilers stepped out "Doctor?" Amy asked, then Scarlett pulled them both out of the way of Liz 10's shot at the Smilers, "Nice." Scarlett said while the Doctor and Amy just looked shocked, "Look who it is." The Doctor stated "You look a lot better without your mask." "You must be Amy, Liz." She held her hand out to Amy and smiled, "Liz 10." "Hi." Amy said, slightly shocked and shook her hand.

"Ehh." Liz 10 said disgusted and wiped her hand off on her cloak, "Lovely hair, Amy. Shame about the sick. You know Mandy, yeah?" The Doctor and Amy exchanged a look "She's very brave." Liz 10 said putting her hand on the girl's back "How did you find us?" The Doctor asked "I stuck my gizmo on you, been listening in. Nice move on the hurl escape. So, what's the big fella doing here?" Liz asked "You're over 16, you've voted." The Doctor stated "Whatever this is, you've chosen to forget." "No she hasn't." Scarlett stated chuckling at the Doctor's confused look "You're not technically a British citizen, are you?" Liz 10 smiled and said "You're sharp." "How do you know me?" The Doctor asked, Liz smiled "You're a bit hard to miss, Love. Mysterious stranger, M.O. consistent with higher alien intelligence," The Doctor smiled proudly "Hair of an idiot." Liz said, the Doctor pointed at her like he was going to say something but just left it. "I've been brought on the stories." Liz said softly "My whole family was." "Your family?" the Doctor asked, Liz 10 was about to reply when the Smilers started to get up "There repairing! Doesn't take them long! Let's move." As they ran out of the room and down a hallway Liz 10 started talking "The Doctor, Old drinking buddy of Henry XII. Tea and scones with Liz II, Vicky was a bit on the fence about you, weren't she? Knighted you and exiled you on the same day. And so much for the Virgin Queen, you bad, bad boy." Scarlett laughed quietly "Liz 10?" the Doctor asked "Liz 10, yeah." A Smiler came walking towards them "Elizabeth the tenth and down!" the Doctor said excitedly "DUCK!" Liz yelled, the four of them dropped and she whirled around and shot the two Smilers, she looked down at the Doctor and said "I'm the bloody queen, mate. Basically, I rule."

The 5 of them walked through a door the Doctor led them to "There's a high- speed vator through there. Oh yeah. There's these things, any ideas?" "Doctor, I saw one up top. There was a hole in the road, like it had burst through. Like a root." "Exactly like a root." The Doctor stated looking at his Sonic "It's all one creature. The same one we were inside, reaching out. It must be growing through the mechanisms of the entire ship." "What? Like an infestation." Liz 10 asked, the Doctor nodded "Someone's helping it." Scarlett stated "feeding it." "Feeding my subjects to it, come on," Liz said "We've got to keep moving." Mandy and Amy followed Liz 10 down the corridor, the Doctor leaned up against the grate and Scarlett stopped, "Doctor?" "Oh, Scarlett We should of never have come here." Scarlett put her hand on his arm, he looked over at her serious face "Of course not." Then a smile lit up her face, the Doctor chuckled and they caught up to Liz, Amy and Mandy. Amy kept throwing glances at the two of them, wondering if the Doctor was developing feelings for Scarlett.

The Doctor, Scarlett, Amy, Mandy and Liz 10 navigated through the glasses of water covering the floor of the Queen's bedroom. "Why all the glasses?" The Doctor asked "To remind me every single day that my government is up to something," Liz said sadly "And it's my duty to find out what." "a queen undercover to investigate her own kingdom." the Doctor said "Secrets are being kept from me." Liz 10 retorted "I don't have a choice. 10 years I've been at this, my entire reign and you've achieved more in one afternoon." "How old were you?" the Doctor asked "When you came to the throne?" "40, why?" "What you're 50 now? No way!" Amy said while she pinned her hair up "Yeah, they slowed my body clock, keeps me looking like the stamps." "And you always were this in public?" the Doctor said asking about the mask "Under cover's not easy when you're me. The autographs, the bunting." "Air- balanced porcelain. Stays on by itself, 'cause it's perfectly sculpted to your face." "Yeah, so what?" Liz asked "Oh, Liz. So everything." Liz's door opened and a 4 mean in cloaks walked in "What are you doing?" Liz asked; outraged. "How dare you come in here?" the Doctor stood up and looked at them "Ma'am, you have expressed interest," One of the hooded men said "In the interior workings of starship UK, you will come with us now." "Why would I do that?" Liz challenged, the man's face turned and became the evil Smiler face, "How could they be Smilers?" Amy asked an oddly amused Doctor "Half Smiler, half human." He replied "Whatever you creatures are," Liz stated "I am still your queen. On whose authority is this done?" "The highest authority, ma'am." The Smiler replied "I am the highest authority." "Yes, ma'am. You must go now, ma'am" The Smiler replied. "Where?" Liz barked "The tower ma'am."

Liz, Scarlett, Doctor, Amy and Mandy walked into the tower of London to see a strange laser shooting out with an electrical sound, "Doctor, where are we?" Amy asked "The lowest point of starship UK." The Doctor "The dungeon." "Ma'am." A man said "Hawthorne!" Liz 10 exclaimed "So this is where you hid yourself away. You've got some explaining to do it." "There's children down here. What's that all about?" the Doctor asked "Protesters and citizens of limited value," Hawthorne said "are fed to the beast. For some reason, it won't eat the children. You're the first adults spared, you're very lucky." "That's disgusting." Scarlett with a look of complete abhorrence "Yeah, look at us," the Doctor spoke like Scarlett hadn't at all, but her words and facial expressions where flowing through his mind "Torture chamber of the tower of London. Lucky, lucky, lucky. Except it's not a torture chamber, is it." He walked forward "Well, except, it is." He stated "Except, it isn't. Depends on your angle." "What's that?" Amy asked, seeing Scarlett and the Doctor's saddened look, "Well, like I say, depends on your angle." The Doctor said "It's either the exposed pain center of a big fella's brain being tortured relentlessly." "Or?" Amy asked "Or it's the gas button." Said Scarlett in a thick voice "The accelerator." The Doctor agreed "Starship UK's go-button." "I don't understand." Liz 10 said "Don't you?" the Doctor asked "Try, go on, the spaceship that could never fly. No vibration on deck, this creature, this poor trapped, terrified creature. It's not infesting you, it's not invading, it's what you have instead of an engine. And this place down here is where you hurt it, where you torture it, day after day. Just to keep it moving." More electricity hit the poor animal's brain "Tell you what. Normally it's above range of human hearing." The Doctor opened a grate so one of the tentacles would come up "This is the squid none of you wanted to hear." He raised his sonic and a high pitched screeching noise sounded causing everyone to look sick,

"STOP IT." Liz 10 shouted "Who did this?" Liz hissed "We act on instruction from the highest authority." Hawthorne stated "I am highest authority." Liz 10 stated "The creature will be released, now." No one moved "I SAID NOW. IS ANYONE LISTENING TO ME?" "Liz." The Doctor said "Your mask." "What about my mask?" she asked "Look at it." "It's old. At least 200 years old, I'd say." "Yeah, it's an antique, so." Liz asked "An antique made by craftsman over 200 years ago," Scarlett cut in "And perfectly sculpted to your face." "They slowed your body clock alright," the Doctor said "But you're not 50, nearer 300 . And it's been a long old reign." "Nah, its 10 years." Liz 10 insisted "I've been on the throne for 10 years." "10 years and the same 10 years over and over again." He grabbed her hand and led her to the computers "Always leading you… Here." Liz 10 studied the computer that had a "Forget" and "Abdicate." Button "What have you done?" She asked Hawthorne slowly "Only what you have ordered," He replied "We work for you, Ma'am. The winders, the Smilers, all of us." Then a video started showing Liz "If you are watching this… If I am watching this, then I have found my way to the tower of London. The creature you are looking at is called a star whale, once there were millions of them; they lived in the depths of space and, according to legend guided the early space travelers through the asteroid belts. This one, as far as we are aware, is the last of its kind and what we have done to it, breaks my heart. The earth was burning, our sun had turned on us and every other nation had fled to the skies, our children screamed, as the skies grew hotter and then it came, like a miracle, the last of the star whales. We trapped it we built our ship around it and we rode on its back to safety, if you wish our voyage to continue, then you must press the "forget" button. Be again the heart of this nation, untainted. If not, press the other button your reign will end and the star whale will be released, and our ship will disintegrate. I hope I keep the strength to make the right decision."

"I voted for this?" Amy asked "Because you knew if we stayed here, I'd be faced with an impossible choice," the Doctor said scarily calm "Humanity or the alien. You took it upon yourself to save me from that, and that was wrong. You don't ever decide what I need to know." The Doctor said getting mad now "I don't even remember doing it." Amy protested "You did it, that's what counts." "I'm…" Amy started "I'm sorry." "Oh, I don't care." The Doctor said while walking over to the main computer "When I'm done here, you're going home." "Why?" Amy asked getting some Scottish fury "Because I made a mistake? One mistake?" "Amy, back off." Scarlett said in fear for her friend "I don't even remember doing it." She persisted "Doctor!" "Yeah, I know, you're only human." "What are you doing?" Liz 10 asked "The worst thing I'll ever do. I'm going to pass a massive electrical charge through the Star whale's brain, should knock out all its higher functions, leave it a vegetable. The ship will still fly but the whale won't feel it." "That'll be like killing it." Amy said "Look, three options," the Doctor said getting angry now "One- I let the Star whale continue in unendurable agony for hundreds more years, two- I kill everyone on this ship, three- I murder a beautiful innocent creature as painlessly as I can, and then I find a new name 'cause I won't be a Doctor anymore." "There must be something we can do, another way." Liz 10 pressed "Nobody talk to me, NOBODY HUMAN HAS ANYTHING TO SAY TO ME TODAY!"

"I do, you're an Idiot." Scarlett said, grabbed Liz 10's arm and pushed her hand on the "Abdicate" button

"NO." the four of them said at the same time, the whale roared and then steadied, "Scarlett, what did you do!" the Doctor said getting mad "Nothing, the whale sped up didn't it." Looking smug "Yes… It did." Hawthorne said; shocked "Yeah, well, you've stopped torturing the pilot." She said chuckling, "It's still here?" Liz 10 asked "Look," Scarlett said rolling her eyes "The Star whale didn't come like a miracle, it volunteered, you didn't have to trap it and torture it, that was all you, it came because it couldn't stand to see your children cry. What if you were really old and really kind and alone, your whole race dead, no future what wouldn't you do then? If you were that old and that kind," she turned to the Doctor "And the very last of your kind…" the Doctor was watching her in complete shock "You couldn't just stand there and watch children cry." Liz 10 and Hawthorne exchanged looks of guilt.

The Doctor and Amy stood at a giant window looking over the country; Amy was torn between feeling happy at the Doctor's apparent annoyance at Scarlett and guiltiness for feeling that way even though Scarlett had saved everyone. Scarlett ran up and held the mask out to the Doctor, "From her majesty, she says there will be no more secrets on starship UK." When the Doctor didn't take the mask, Scarlett rolled her eyes and said in a bored tone "You're mad at me, aren't you." "Scarlett, you could have killed everyone on this ship." "You could have killed the Star whale." She said, not missing a beat. "And you saved it, I know, I know." The Doctor said annoyed-ly "If you try to make me apologize, I'll rip your idiotic hair out." She said with a serene smile, "How did you know?" Amy asked "That something so old and full of misery would be kind enough to save crying children? I've seen it before." Scarlett said smiling and casting a glance at the Doctor, who took a full 5 seconds to realize she was referring to him and when he did looked at her for a full 10 seconds (1o seconds to long for Amy) and pulled her into a hug, "You're forgiven." He said while hugging her "Because I know how to sweet talk an alien." She finished, the Doctor chuckled.

"Shouldn't we say good-bye? Won't they wonder where we went?" Amy asked the Doctor, who was currently pondering Scarlett and shooting her occasional looks. "For the rest of their lives, oh the songs they'll right." "About the amazing Scarlett and her two companions?" Scarlett asked innocently, earning a soft shove from the Doctor and a glare from Amy, who couldn't deny their growing companionship, "Never mind you, big day tomorrow." He said while walking to the Tardis doors "Sorry, what?" Amy asked and looked at a moderately surprised Scarlett "It's always a big day tomorrow. We've got a time machine, I skip the little ones." "Does that mean I can stay?" Amy asked nervously, the Doctor gave her a look and sighed "As long as you promise not to do that again, yes." "I PROMISE THANK YOU THANK YOU Amy thought he was letting her because of his feelings for her, Scarlett thought he never really was going to take her home and the Doctor simply because if he made Amy go home Scarlett would to and he had strange liking for her. "You know what I said?" Amy asked "About getting back for tomorrow morning…" the Doctor looked worried and walked over to her "Have you ever run away from something because you were scared or just not ready, or just… Just because you could?" "You realize that's a stupid question, right? We all have." Scarlett said ignoring Amy's glare "Once… A long time ago." The Doctor said replying to Amy's question "What happened?" Amy asked, the Doctor opened his mouth to answer then he heard a phone ring, "Hello!" he said before going to the TARDIS doors "Right." Amy said "Doctor, there's something I haven't told you," the Doctor turned to look at Amy "No, hang on, is that a phone ringing?" the Doctor raised his eyebrows and walked into the TARDIS, Amy and Scarlett followed him "People phone you?" Amy asked "Well it's a phone box. Would you mind?" "W…" Amy started, rolled her eyes and picked up the phone "Hello… Sorry who… No seriously, who?" she put the phone to her chest "Says he's the prime minister. First the queen, now the prime minister. Get about, don't you?" She said to the Doctor "which prime minister?" he asked while setting messing around on the TARDIS "Which prime minister... He says the British one." "Which British one?" the Doctor asked "Which British one?" the Doctor asked "Which British one… Winston Churchill for you." Amy said in shock "Oh hello, dear. What's up…" Scarlett watched the Doctor interestedly "Don't worry about a thing prime minister, we're on our way!" he hung the phone and set the TARDIS to go to Winston Churchill and was about to pull the lever o leave when he paused and turned to Scarlett, who rolled her eyes and yelled "Finally!" "What?" Amy asked, looking between Scarlett and the Doctors intense look, "How did you know I'm the last of my kind and very old?" Scarlett chuckled loudly and leaned over the console toward him and said a word that wiped the smile of his face,

"Spoilers."


	3. Chapter 3

Victory of the Daleks

The Doctor parked the Tardis, and stepped out to be greeted by three men with rifles pointed right at him. He stepped out nervously and looked around until Winston Churchill stepped in front of the men, "Amy, Scarlett, Winston Churchill." The Doctor said, gesturing towards him, "Doctor? Is it you?" Winston asked, shocked. "Winston, my old friend!" the Doctor said while putting a hand out to shake Winston, Winston didn't return it, instead, held his hand out like he wanted something, "Ahhh, every time!" the Doctor said jokingly "What's he after?" Amy asked, "Tardis key, of course." "Think of what I could achieve with your remarkable machine, Doctor! The lives that could be saved!" Winston protested "It doesn't work like that." The Doctor smiled while he shut the door, "Must I take it by force?" Winston asked, challenging-ly "I'd like to see you try." The Doctor said with a dark promise in his words, "At ease." Churchill said to the soldiers, "You rang?" the Doctor asked.

The four of them walked down the corridor, "So you've changed your face again." "Yeah, well, had a bit of work done." The Doctor replied "Got it! Got It! Got it!" Amy yelled "Cabinet war rooms, right?" "Yep." The Doctor said while scratching the back of his head, "Top secret heart of the war office, right under London." "You're late, by the way." Winston stated, a woman came up "Requisitions, sir." "Excellent." "Late?" the Doctor asked "I rang you a month ago." "Really? Sorry. Sorry, it's a type 40 Tardis. I'm just running her in." "Something the matter, Breen?" Winston asked a sad looking woman, "You look a little down in the dumps." "No, sir. Fine, sir." "Action this day, Breen. Action this day." "Yes, sir." she nodded; Scarlett and Amy smiled at her, "Excuse me, sir." A man said to Winston "Got another formation coming in, Prime minister. STUKAS, by the look of them" "We shall go up top then, group captain. We'll give them what for." The Doctor and Scarlett smiled excitedly at each other, "Coming, Doctor?" Winston asked "Why?" "I have something to show you."

The four of them rode in a lift, Winston Churchill smoked a cigar and the Doctor waved away from his face, "We stand at a crossroads Doctor, quite alone." Winston stated "With our backs to the wall, invasion is expected daily so I will grasp with both hands anything that will give us an advantage over the Nazi menace." The Doctor looked back at Amy who looked very solemn and Scarlett who had her eyebrows raised, she then shrugged at him. "Such as?" the Doctor asked. The lit stopped. Winston opened the door "Follow me."

The Doctor, Scarlett, Amy and Winston stepped out on to the roof, Scarlett gave a low whistle and Amy said "Oh my god." "Doctor, this is Professor Edwin Bracewell." Winston introduced "Head of our Ironsides project." The Doctor gave him the Victory symbol "How do you do?" The man called A bomb exploded near to them, "It's- It's, oh Doctor." Amy said "Doctor, it's." "History." The Doctor finished for her; Winston called "Ready, Bracewell?" "Aye-aye, sir." "On my order." Winston said "Fire." Then a very unearth-ly, laser shot and hit multiple planes. "What the hell?" Scarlett muttered "What was that?" Amy asked "That wasn't human," the Doctor said in worry "That was never human technology that sounded like…" Scarlett and Amy exchanged a look "Show me." The Doctor said "Show Me! Show Me What That Was!" he ran up the ladder to where Bracewell stood "Advance." He said "Our new secret weapon." Winston yelled to the Doctor, Slowly a Dalek rolled out to the open, turned to look at the Doctor. Everyone was too preoccupied to notice Scarlett take the smallest of steps in front Amy, putting herself in the perfect defensive position, "What do you think?" Winston asked "Quite something, eh?" "What are you doing here?" the Doctor asked the Dalek "I am your soldier." The Dalek told him "What?" the Doctor asked confusedly "I am your soldier." The Dalek repeated "Stop this," The Doctor commanded "You stop now. Oh, you know who I am. You always know." "Your identity is unknown." The Dalek stated "Perhaps I can clarify things here." Bracewell stated "This is one of my Ironsides." "Your what?" The Doctor asked, Bracewell turned to the Dalek and said "You will help the Allied cause in any way that you can?" "Yes" "Until the Germans have been utterly smashed?" "Yes" the Dalek repeated "And what is your ultimate aim?" Bracewell finished "To win the war!"

Scarlett, Amy, Winston and the Doctor were in Churchill's office. The Doctor looked at the blueprints of the "Ironsides." "They're Daleks!" the Doctor yelled "They're called Daleks!" "They are Bracewell's Ironsides, Doctor!" Winston protested "Look! Blueprints, statistics, field-tests, photographs. He invented them!" "Invented Them? Oh, no, no, no!" The Doctor fought back "Yes! He approached one of our brass hats a few months ago. Fella's a genius." "A Scottish genius, too. Maybe you should listen to..." Amy started until Scarlett interrupted and said "Amy, what's 50 times 32?" Amy looked at her and said "I don't know." "Then you're not qualified to make a statement on this conversation, PS. It's 1600." Winston turned to the Doctor and said "I must say, I do like your girlfriend." "We- We're not together." Said the Doctor, flushing slightly "Pity." Winston said "Guys, priorities." Scarlett stated, the Doctor nodded and said "He didn't invent them! They're alien." A Dalek glided into the room and the Doctor gave it a wary look "And Totally hostile!" "Precisely. They will win me the war!" Winston accentuated by showing them a propaganda poster with Daleks on it.

They all walked down a corridor, "Why won't you listen?" The Doctor asked "Why call me in if you won't listen to me?" "When I rang you a month ago," Churchill started "I must admit, I had my doubts the Ironsides seemed too good to be true." "Yes!" the Doctor yelled " Right! So destroy them! Exterminate them!" "But imagine what I could do with a hundred! A thousand!" "I am imagining." The Doctor said as a Dalek glided past him "Amy, Tell him." "Tell him what?" Amy asked "About the Daleks!" "What would I know about the Daleks?" "Everything. They invaded your world, remember? Planets in the sky, you don't forget that! Amy… Tell me you remember the Daleks." "Nope, sorry." "I do." Scarlett's words made them all freeze, the Doctor turned on her and grabbed her upper arms "How do you remember, but not her?" Scarlett shrugged.

Once the four of them were in the map room the Doctor asked, still annoyed with the way things were going, "So, they're up to something. But what is it? What are they after?" "Well, let's just ask, shall we?" Amy said while sauntering up to a Dalek, ignoring the Doctor's protests. The Scottish Ginger tapped on the Daleks casing and it swirled around "Can I be of assistance?" "Oh. Yes. Yes! See, my friend reckons you're dangerous; That you're an alien. Is it true?" Amy asked while Scarlett and the Doctor watched nervously "I am your soldier." The Dalek said eerily, "  
Yeah. Got that bit. Love a squaddie. What else, though?" Amy asked impatiently "Please excuse me. I have duties to perform." The Dalek said abruptly and glided away, The Doctor walked over to Winston and took the cigar out of Churchill's mouth "Winston, Winston, please." The Doctor begged. "We are waging a total war, Doctor," Churchill argued "Day after day the Luftwaffe pound this great city like an iron fist." "Wait till the Daleks get started." Scarlett said, going to stand next to the Doctor. "Men, Women and children slaughtered. Families torn apart. Wren's churches in flames." "Yeah, Try the Earth in flames!" The Doctor said "I weep for my country," Churchill said while he walked around the table "I weep for my empire. It is breaking my heart." "But you're resisting Winston!" Scarlett said following Churchill around the table, the Doctor's hand in hers "The whole world knows you're resisting," The Doctor agreed while giving Scarlett's hand a squeeze "You're a beacon of hope." "But for how long?" Churchill argues while signing some papers "Millions of innocent lives will be saved if I use these Ironsides now!" A Dalek wheeled to Churchill and said "Can I be of assistance?" "Shut It!" The Doctor yelled at the Dalek, then turned to Churchill "Listen to me, just listen! The Daleks have no conscience, no mercy, no pity. They are my oldest and deadliest enemy. You cannot trust them!" The Doctor yelled "If Hitler invaded hell, I would give a favorable reference to the Devil! These machines are our salvation!" Churchill Exclaimed right before a siren sounded "Oh, The all clear. We are safe, For now." Winston said before walking out of the room, followed by a Dalek shortly after. Amy walked up to the Doctor and Scarlett, frowning at their conjoined hands, and said "Doctor, it's the-all clear. Are you okay?" The Doctor dropped Scarlett's hand and twisted an officer's cap in his hands. "What does hate look like, Amy?" He asked finally "Hate?" Amy asked confused "It looks like a Dalek," The Doctor said "And I'm going to prove it." And he threw the cap on the desk.

In Bracewell's lab, the aforementioned man was working on his desk. A Dalek glided up to him and asked "Would you care for some tea?" "That would be very nice." The scientist said, while The Doctor, Scarlett and Amy "All right, Prof! The PM's have been filling me in. Amazing things, these Ironsides of yours, Amazing." The Doctor said "You must be very proud of them." Scarlett interjected with a smile. "Just doing my bit." Bracewell said, "Not bad for a Paisley boy." Amy said while holding a spanner. Scarlett sat in a chair, while the Doctor leaned on the side, handed the Doctor a file, and started reading one herself. Amy looked at her friends, and thought that they looked, well, _cute._ Which was surprising, considering that she (Amy) was most defiantly meant to be with the Doctor, and not her brunette friend. "Yes," Said Bracewell "I thought I detected a familiar cadence, my dear." "How did you do it? Come up with the idea?" Scarlett asked, throwing the file on the desk and leaning forward, with her elbows on her knees. "How does the muse of invention come to anyone?" Bracewell asked, The Doctor, following suit tossed his file on the desk and said "But you get a lot of these clever notions, do you?" "Well, ideas just seem to teem from my head! Wonderful things! Like... let me show you." And Bracewell showed them some files "Some musings on the potential of hypersonic flight. Gravity bubbles that could sustain life outside of the terrestrial atmosphere! Came to me in the bath!" "Are these your ideas or theirs?" the Doctor asked "No, no, no, no. These robots are entirely under my control, Doctor. They are..._" _Bracewell grabbed a cup of tea from a Dalek_ "_Thank you...the perfect servant, and the perfect warrior." "I don't know what you're up to." The Doctor said, getting closer to Bracewell "But whatever they've promised, you cannot trust them! Call them what you like; Daleks mean death!" "Yes, Doctor." Churchill said while entering the room "Death to our enemies! Death to the forces of darkness, and death to the third Reich!" "Yes and death to everyone else!" Scarlett exclaimed "Why won't anyone believe us?!" A Dalek choose this awful time to ask the Doctor "Would you like some tea?" The Doctor flipped the tray out of the machine's hands and yelled "Stop this!" What are you doing here? What do you want?" "We seek only to help you." "To do what?" Scarlett asked incredulously "To win the war!" The Dalek replied "Really? Which War?" The Doctor asked "I do not understand." The Dalek said "This war, against the Nazis?" The Doctor asked getting riled up "Or your war? The war against the rest of the universe? The war against all life-forms that are not Dalek?" "I do not understand." The Dalek said "I am you soldier." "Oh yeah? Okay." The Doctor said before picking up a giant spanned and hitting the Dalek with it

"Okay, soldier, defend yourself." "Doctor, what the devil?" Bracewell asked "You do not require tea?" The Doctor continued to hit the Dalek, making Scarlett raise an eyebrow "Stop it!" Bracewell yelled "Prime Minister, please!" "Doctor, please," Churchill protested "These machines are precious." "Come! Fight back! You want to, don't you? You know you do!" The Doctor yelled while hitting the Dalek again "I must protest!" Bracewell said "What are you waiting for? You hate me. You want to kill me. Well, go on! Kill me. Kill me!" The Doctor said, swinging again. Amy went to pull the Doctor away until Scarlett grabbed her, Amy turned annoyed and Scarlett said "How about you don't run towards the enraged man swing a piece of metal around." "Please desist from striking me. I am your soldier." The Dalek said once more, "You are my enemy!" The Doctor said, punctuating each sentence with a hit "And I am yours! You are everything I despise! The worst thing in all creation. I've defeated you time and time again, I've defeated you. I sent you back into the void! I saved the whole of reality from you! I am the Doctor! And you are the Daleks!" He finished by kicking the Dalek, which rolled backwards "Correct." The Dalek said "Review testimony." Then the Doctor on playback said "I am the Doctor and you are the Daleks!" the real Doctor said "Testimony? What are you talking about, testimony?" the second Dalek in the room said "Transmitting testimony now." "Transmit what, where? The Doctor asked

Up on a Spaceship, a Dalek cried "Receiving message now." A small Dalek shaped device started flashing while the Doctor's voce carried through the room. "Progenitor activated. Testimony accepted! Testimony accepted."

Back on Earth a Dalek also cried "Testimony accepted!" "Get back all of you!" The Doctor yelled "Marines! Marines! Get in here!" Churchill yelled, when they arrived one of the Daleks killed them. "Stop it! Stop it!" Bracewell yelled "What are you doing? You are my Ironsides!" "We are the Daleks" one of them called "But I created you!" Bracewell yelled "No." A Dalek yelled, and shot of Bracewell's hand, revealing a stump of wires and circuits, "We created you." Then every single Dalek yelled "VICTORY! VICTORY! VICTORY!" and teleported to their ship "What just happened, Doctor?" Amy asked "We wanted to know what they wanted, what their plan was. HE was their plan." Scarlett said, who then got tugged by the Doctor out of the room "Hey!" Amy yelled.

On the Dalek space craft a Dalek yelled "Commencing phase two. The Progenitor is activated. It begins!"

In the cabinet war rooms, the Doctor ran towards the TARDIS "Testimony accepted!" he yelled while holding Scarlett's hand "That's what they said! My testimony!" "No one is trying to dispute that assertion!" Scarlett replied, While the Doctor unlocked the TARDIS Amy said "What do we do? Chase after them?" "This is what I do. It's dangerous, so wait here." The Doctor said, dropping her hand "What, so you mean we're got to stay safe down here in the middle of the London Blitz?" Amy asked "As safe as it gets around here." Scarlett said. The Doctor stepped into the TARDIS and before anyone could blink an eye, Scarlett slipped in behind him. Amy almost went in, but the TARDIS began to dematerialize before she could. "What does he expect us to do?" Amy asked Churchill "KBO, of course." Was his response "What?" "Keep buggering on."

"I thought I told you to stay there!" The Doctor yelled at Scarlett as he ran around the console, "I didn't listen!" She said smiling "Besides, if these things are as dangerous as you say, best we stick together." The Doctor rolled his eyes and gave her a look, which turned to a smile when he look at the monitor (She couldn't see him from there) "Bingo!" He yelled when a ship came up

"Prime Minister!" Breen said, entering with a communique "Yes?" "Signal from RDF, sir. Unidentified object. Hanging in the sky, Captain Childers says. We can't get a proper fix, though. It's too far up." "What do you think, Miss Pond?" Winston asked "The Doctor's in trouble and now we know where he is." "Yeah," Amy said "Cause he'll be on that ship, won't he? Right in the middle of everything." "Exactly!"

"The Final Phase commences, channel all reserve power to Progenitor." A Dalek yelled, suddenly, The Tardis materialized, all the Daleks turned to see the Doctor and Scarlett get out "How about a cuppa?" Scarlett asked amicably "It is the Doctor! Exterminate!" A Dalek yelled "Wait, wait, wait, I wouldn't if I were you!" The Doctor said pulling out a small round object and held it out towards the Daleks "The TARDIS self-destruct. And you know what that means; my ship goes, you all go with it." "You would not use such a device." A different Dalek said "Try me." The Doctor said, when a Dalek rolled forward he yelled "Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah. No scans! No nothing! One move and I'll destroy us all, you got that? TARDIS bang-bang, Daleks boom!" The Dalek that had moved forward, moved back "Good boy," The Doctor said while looking at the Dalek's instrument panels "This ship is pretty beaten up, running on empty, I'd say, like you. When we last met, you were at the end of your last rope. Finished."

"One ship survived." One of the Daleks said "And you fell back through time, yes? Crippled? Dying?" The Doctor asked "We picked up a trace. One of the Progenitor devices." "Progenitor? What's that when it's at home?" Scarlett asked, all of the Daleks eyes swiveled towards her and one of them said "You are Scarlett Williams." The Doctor frowned and turned, how did the Daleks know who she was? Scarlett held out her arms in a way to say "Guilty as charged." "It is our past. And our future." The Dalek said, with almost a trace of fear in its voice. "Ohh, that's deep." The Doctor stated "That is deep for a Dalek. What does it mean, though? "It contains pure Dalek DNA," The main Dalek explained "Thousands were created. All were lost, save one." "Okay, but there's still one thing I don't get, though; If you've got the Progenitor, why build Bracewell?" The Doctor asked "It was… Necessary." The Dalek said, sounding guilty.

"But Why?" The Doctor asked, "Oh, I get it! I get it!" Scarlett yelled, surprising the Doctor "The Progenitor wouldn't recognize you, would it. It saw you as impure; the DNA is unrecognizable as Dalek." The Doctor smiled at his companion's brilliance "A solution was devised." A Dalek confirmed "Yes, yes, yes. Me. My testimony. So you set a trap, you knew that the Progenitor would recognize me. The Daleks' greatest enemy! It would accept my word. My recognition of you." The Doctor said, when a Dalek turned to the instrument panel "No, no, no! What are you doing?" The Doctor yelled, holding the round object out again, "Withdraw now, Doctor, or the city dies in flames." The Dalek said "Who are you kidding?" Scarlett scoffed "This ship is a wreck, you don't have the power to destroy London." "Watch as the humans destroy themselves."

Back in London, all over the city lights switched on. And in the Cabinet rooms, an officer tried to flip the lights off "The Generators won't switch off!" He called "The lights are on all across London, Prime Minister?" "Has to be them. Has to be the Daleks." Amy said "The Germans can see every inch of the city. We're sitting ducks. Get those lights out before the Germans get here!" Churchill yelled "Thousands will die if we don't get those lights out now." "German bombers sighted over the Channel, sir. ETA 10 minutes, sir." Breen sated "Here they come. Get a message to Mr. Attlee. War Cabinet meeting at 0300-if we're all still here." Churchill said "We can't just sit here!" Amy protested "We've got to take the fight to the Daleks!" "How? None of our weapons are a match for theirs." Churchill protested "Oh, look, we must have something." Amy said, the suddenly realizing "Oh! Staring us in the face! A gift! From the Daleks!"

"Turn those lights off now. Turn London off or I swear I will use the Tardis self-destruct." The Doctor argued "Stalemate, Doctor," A Dalek said "Leave us, and return to Earth." "Oh, that's it! That's your great victory? You leave?" The Doctor asked "Extinction is not an option. We shall return to our own time and begin again." "No, no, no!" The Doctor yelled "I won't let you get away this time! I won't!" suddenly there was a mechanical whoosh and a soft thrumming and a Dalek said "We have succeeded - DNA reconstruction is complete." The Daleks glided back from the cubicle, which was now engulfed in red energy. The doors slide open "Observe, Doctor, a new Dalek paradigm!" Scarlett and the Doctor watched as large Daleks in every color emerge from the smoke. "The Progenitor has fulfilled our new destiny. Behold, the restoration of the Daleks! The resurrection of the master race!"

Bracewell placed a gun to his head when Amy and Churchill walked in, "Bracewell!" Winston yelled "Put the gun down." "My life is a lie, and I choose to end it." Bracewell said, in a broken way "In your own time, Paisley boy," Amy said, standing next to him "because right now we need your help." "because right now we need your help." Bracewell protested "my Ironsides…they made me? I... I can remember things, so many things. The last war- The squalor and the mud and the awful, awful misery of it all. What am I? What am I?" "What you are, sir," Churchill said "is either on our side, or theirs. Now, I don't give a damn if you're a machine, Bracewell... Are you a man?" "Listen to me. I understand. Really, I do." Amy said, while taking the gun "Look, there is a spaceship up there lighting up London like a Christmas tree. Thousands of people will die tonight if we don't stop it, and you're the only one who can help take it down." "I am?" Bracewell asked "You're alien technology. You're as clever as the Daleks are, so start thinking! What about rockets? You got rockets? Cos you said gravity whatsits, hypersonic flight, some kind of missile" Amy said smiling "This isn't a fireworks party, Miss Pond!" Churchill said "We need proper tactical... A missile... or...?" "Or what?" Amy asked "We could send something up there, you say?" Churchill asked "With a gravity bubble, yes." Bracewell said while showing him the plans for it "Theoretically it's possible we could actually send something into space." "Bracewell… It's time to think big." Churchill said

"All hail the new Daleks! All hail the new Daleks!" Said an old Dalek "Yes, you are inferior!" Said the white Dalek "Yes." The old Dalek agreed "Then prepare." The white Dalek said, "We are ready!" All the Old Daleks said simultaneously "Cleanse the unclean! Total obliteration! Disintegrate!" The White Declare, and The Blue and Red one shot the old Daleks "Blimey, what do you do to the ones who mess up?" Scarlett asked, making all the new Daleks turn towards them "You are the Doctor! You must be exterminated!" The White one yelled, the Doctor pulled out the round device and said "Don't mess with me, sweetheart."

"'Advancing bombers approaching in strike formation. Incendiary bombs have hit the East End of London. '" called a man, while Bracewell entered with his arm in a sling and with homemade headset on. "At last!" Churchill exclaimed "Are they ready?" "I hope so." Bracewell said "But in the meantime." He placed a device with a screen and knobs on the desk "This will pick up Dalek transmissions." And he hit the side of it. On screen the Doctor, Scarlett and the White Dalek appeared "We are the paradigm of a new Dalek race." The White Dalek said through the screen, "It's him! It's the Doctor!" Amy yelled

"Scientist, Strategist, Drone, Eternal, and the Supreme." The White Dalek said "Which would be you, I'm guessing?" Scarlett said "Well, you know, nice paint job. I'd be feeling pretty swish if I looked like you. Pretty 'Supre-eme'."

"He's got company. New company. We've got to hurry up!" Amy said, when a phone rang, Bracewell picked up and said into the receiver "Yes? Right. Right, thanks!" and hung up "Ready when you are, Prime Minister." "Splendid!" Churchill said, a ship appeared on screen and Bracewell said "Spaceship's exact co-ordinates located!" "Go to it, Group Captain! Go to it!" Churchill told them men "Broadsword to Danny Boy! Broadsword to Danny Boy! Scramble! Scramble! Scramble!" The group Captain yelled

"Question is, what do we do now," The Doctor said "Either you turn off your clever machine or I'll blow you and your new paradigm into eternity." "And yourself." The White Dalek said "Occupational hazard." The Doctor retorted "Scan reveals nothing!" The Blue Dalek announced "TARDIS self-destruct device non-existent!" "All right," The Doctor said biting into the cookie "it's a Jammy Dodger, but we were promised tea!" When a siren went off "Alert! Unidentified projectile approaching!" the Blue Dalek said and the Doctor and Scarlett looked at the other "Correction. Multiple projectiles!" "What have the humans done?" The White Dalek asked "I don't know." The Doctor said "Explain! Explain! Explain!" The White Dalek yelled, when, over the radio, came a voice that said "Danny Boy to the Doctor! Danny Boy to the Doctor! Are you receiving me? Over." "Oh, Winston! You beauty!" The Doctor yelled "Loud and clear, Danny boy!" Scarlett yelled "Big dish, side of the ship, blow it up! Over!" The Doctor yelled "Exterminate the Doctor!" The White Dalek yelled, but the Doctor and Scarlett ran into the TARDIS.

"You heard him, Group Captain! Target that dish! Send in all we've got!" Winston said into the receiver

"4 to Danny Boy, target the dish and stop that signal." The group captain said

"Over. Understood, sir. Over." The pilot yelled

"You can count on us! Over."

"OK, chaps, let's put London back under cover of darkness. Tally ho!" the pilot said while shooting the Dalek ship

"We've lost Jubilee, sir! Over."

"Beam still active, sir."

"Then send them again." Winston yelled

"'Flintlock's down sir, and the dish seems to be protected. Over"

"Shields intact, pulse still active." The Blue Dalek announced

"Danny Boy to the Doctor... only me left now."

"Anything you can do, sir? Over." The Doctor picked up a small microphone and said "The Doctor to Danny Boy... The Doctor to Danny Boy. Can disrupt the Dalek shields, but not for long. Over." "Good show, Doctor, go to it. Over."

The Doctor started the TARDIS.

"Going in, wish me luck. Over. "

The Doctor frantically worked the controls, not even seeing Scarlett push the button and pull the lever to make the shields lower.

"Shields de-activated!" The Yellow Dalek yelled

Danny boy destroyed the beam.

"Energy pulse destroyed!" The Red Dalek yelled

"Direct hit, sir!" and the lights in London turned off

"Danny Boy to the Doctor...going in for another attack."

"The Doctor to Danny Boy. The Doctor to Danny Boy. Destroy this ship! Over." The Doctor responded

"What about you, Doctor?"

"We'll be fine." Scarlett said when the White Dalek appeared on the monitor "Doctor! Call off your attack!" "Ah-ha, what? And let you scuttle off back to the future? No fear. This is the end for you. The final end!" The Doctor exclaimed "Call off the attack, or we will destroy the Earth." "I'm not stupid, mate! You've just played your last card!" The Doctor said "Bracewell is a bomb." The White Dalek said "You're bluffing," The Doctor argued "Deception's second nature to you. There isn't a sincere bone in your body." "There isn't a bone in his body." Scarlett said to the Doctor "His power is derived from an Oblivion Continuum!" The White Dalek continued "Call off your attack, or we will detonate the android." "NO!" The Doctor Yelled "This is my best chance ever! The last of the Daleks! I can rid the Universe of you, once and for all!" "Then do it. But we will shatter the planet below! The Earth will die screaming!" The Dalek said "And if I let you go, you'll be stronger than ever. A new race of Daleks." The Doctor said starting to get frenzied "Then choose, Doctor! Destroy the Daleks or save the Earth. Begin countdown of Oblivion Continuum! Choose, Doctor! Choose! Choose!" Scarlett placed a hand on his arm and the Doctor sighed, picked up the microphone and said "The Doctor to Danny Boy. The Doctor to Danny Boy. Withdraw." "Say again, sir. Over" The Pilot asked "Withdraw! Return to Earth. Over and out." "But sir...!" protested "There's no time, you have to return to Earth now! Over!" and he set course for Earth.

The TARDIS materialized and the Doctor and Scarlett ran out, Scarlett ran up to Bracewell and punched. "Scarlett!" Amy said, disgusted at her friend "Sorry, Professor. You're a bomb! An inconceivably massive Dalek bomb." Scarlett said "What?" Bracewell said "There's an Oblivion Continuum inside you" The Doctor said "a captured wormhole that provides perpetual power. Detonate that, and the Earth will bleed through into another dimension!" The Doctor kneeled down and opened Bracewell's shirt and soniced him, revealing metal "Now keep down."

"Detonation sequence activated. Time corridor establishing..." The White Dalek said

On the circular pod in the center of Bracewell's chest, glowing blue, one section turned yellow "Well?" Amy asked "I dunno, I dunno, I dunno!" The Doctor said while shaking his screwdriver "Never seen one up close before!" "So, what, they've wired him up to detonate?" Amy asked "Not wired him up! He is a bomb. Walking, talking," The Doctor said and made an exploding gesture "Exploding! The moment that flashes red." "There's... a blue wire or something you have to cut, isn't there? There's always a blue wire." Amy said nervously, "Amy, you are not helping." Scarlett snapped "It's incredible. He talked to us about his memories. The Great War..." Winston said "Someone else's stolen thoughts, implanted in a positronic brain." The Doctor said "me about it. Bracewell! Tell me about your life!" "Doctor, I really don't think this is the time!" Bracewell protested "Tell me and prove you're human. Tell me everything." One of the sections on Bracewell was red and one yellow "My family ran the Post Office. It's a little place just near the abbey. Just by the ash trees. There used to be eight trees but...but there was a storm." Bracewell said "And your parents? Come on! Tell me!" The Doctor asked "Good people. Kind people. They... They died. Scarlet fever." Bracewell said "What was that like? How did it feel?" "Please…" Bracewell begged "How did it make you feel, Edwin? Tell me! Tell me now!" the Doctor yelled "It hurt. It hurts, Doctor, so badly. Like a wound." The second section turned red and the third yellow "It was worse than a wound. Like I'd been emptied out. There was nothing."

"Good. Remember it now, Edwin!" The Doctor yelled "The ash trees by the Post Office and your mum and dad and losing them and men in the trenches you saw die... Remember it! Feel it, because you're human." The third section turns red "You're not like them. You are not like the Daleks!" "It hurts! Doctor, it hurts so much!" Bracewell yelled "Good! Good! Good! Brilliant! Embrace it." The fourth section turned red "That means you're alive! They cannot explode that bomb, you're a human being! You are flesh and blood! They cannot explode that bomb! Believe it! You are Professor Edwin Bracewell! And you, my friend, are a human being!" The fifth section turned red "It's not working, I can't stop it!"

"Hey, you." Scarlett said, kneeling "Ever had a secret you couldn't tell anyone? It bottles up inside you, and feel ready to explode."

"I really shouldn't talk about her." Bracewell said, while the last section remained yellow "Oh. There's a her." Scarlett said smiling, the last section turned blue "What was her name?" Doctor joined in "Dorabella." "Dorabella? It's a lovely name, it's a beautiful name." The Doctor said "What was she like, Edwin?" Scarlett asked "Oh... Such a smile. And her eyes... Her eyes were so blue...Almost violet. Like the last touch of sunset on the edge of the world... Dorabella..._" _then all the sections turned blue, disarming the bomb.

"Oblivion Continuum... inactive." The Blue Dalek announced "Impossible!" The White Dalek yelled "Time jump imminent! Prepare!" The Blur Dalek yelled.

"Welcome to the human race" The Doctor said "You're brilliant," he said to Churchill "You're brilliant." He said to Bracewell "You're brilliant," he said to May "And you," He said to Scarlett, and leaned forward to kiss her forehead "Now, gotta stop them! Stop the Daleks!" He stood up and went to run out of the room, until Bracewell said "Wait! Doctor! Wait... Wait. It's too late. Gone. They've gone." "No, no, no!" The Doctor yelled "They can't! They can't have got away from me again!" "No, I can feel it, my mind is clear." Bracewell said "The Daleks have gone." The Doctor leaned against the wall, getting pale. Scarlett popped up, walked over to him, and put her hands on either side of his face "Hey, you saved the Earth. Not too shabby." "I had a choice. And they knew I'd choose the Earth." The Doctor said "The Daleks have won. They beat me. They've won." "The Daleks didn't win, they only win we give up hope." Scarlett said smiling. The Doctor smiled and grabbed her hands, and squeezed them. "I guess it's not too shabby."

"So, what now, then?" Amy asked Churchill "I still have a war to run, Miss Pond." "Prime Minister." A woman said handing Churchill a document "Oh, thank you._" _Churchill said "They hit the Palace and St Paul's again. Fire crews only just saved it." Breen entered the room crying "Is she okay?" Amy asked "What?" Churchill asked "She looks very upset." "Oh, Miss Breen?" Churchill asked "Her young man didn't make it, I'm afraid. Just got word. Shot down over the Channel." "Where's the Doctor?" Amy asked, when the Doctor and Scarlett came up "Tying up loose ends. I've taken out all the alien tech Bracewell put in." The Doctor explained "Won't you reconsider, Doctor?" Churchill asked "Those Spitfires would win me the war in 24 hours!" "Exactly." Scarlett said while taking the tea out of the Doctor's hands and taking a sip, "But why not? Why can't we put an end to all this misery?" Churchill asked "Oh, it doesn't work like that, Winston." The Doctor said "It's gonna be tough. There are terrible days to come. The darkest days. But you can do it. You know you can." "Stay with us, and help us win through! The world needs you." Churchill pleaded "The world doesn't need me." The Doctor said "No?" Churchill asked "The world's got Winston Spencer Churchill." Scarlett said, making the Victory sign.

"It's been a pleasure, as always." Churchill said "Too right." The Doctor said and they hugged "Goodbye, Doctor." "Oh, shall we say adieu?" The Doctor said "Indeed. Goodbye, Miss Pond." "It's.. it's been amazing. Meeting you." Amy said "I'm sure it has!" Churchill said, and Amy kissed his cheek. "And Miss Williams. You keep an eye on this one." Churchill said, Scarlett saluted and said "Yes, sir." And gave him a kiss on the cheek. Churchill headed towards the door when Amy called "Oi, Churchill! TARDIS key. The one you just took from the Doctor." The Doctor choked slightly on his tea and Churchill laughed "Oh, she's good, Doctor- Why it isn't there!" Churchill exclaimed "Oh do you think we're-."

The Doctor started until Scarlett held the key up in front of his face "Sharp as a pin!" Churchill said towards Scarlett "Almost as sharp as me! KBO." Once Churchill left, Scarlett went to give the Doctor the key, but he didn't take it; he held up his finger and reached into his pocket, his hand going far farther than it should, and pulled out a silver chain. He put the key on it and place the necklace around Scarlett's neck and did the clasp. Since he put the necklace on her from the front, he ended up very close to her and his arms around her neck, when he realized what he was doing he snapped his arms away and laughed awkwardly.

The Doctor, Amy and Scarlett walked into Bracewell's office, "I've been expecting you, Doctor." Bracewell said "I knew this moment had to come." "Moment?" Doctor asked "It's time to de-activate me." "Is it…? Oh… yeah." The Doctor "You have no choice. I'm Dalek technology. Can't allow me to go pottering around down here where I have no business." Bracewell said "No, you're dead right, Professor." Scarlett said "100% right. And by the time we get back here in... what, ten minutes?" "Fifteen." Amy said playing along, while the Doctor chuckled "Fifteen minutes, yeah, that's exactly what I'm going to do. You are going to be so de-activated. It's going be like you've never even been... activated." Scarlett said awkwardly, while Amy chuckled "Yeah." She managed to get out "Fifteen minutes?" Bracewell asked "More like 20, if I'm honest. Once Scarlett, Pond and I see to the urgent thing…" The Doctor said "Yes!" Amy and Scarlett said "…we've got to see to. The... the... See?" Scarlett said awkwardly "Very well, Doctor. I shall wait here and prepare myself." Bracewell said "That Dalek tech's a little bit slow on the uptake." Scarlett whispered to the Doctor "That thing we've got to do. Gonna take half an hour, realistically, isn't it, Doctor?" "Easily!' The Doctor agreed "So no running off, that's what I'm saying. Don't go trying to find that little Post Office with the ash trees or that girl… Dorabella!" Scarlett said "On no account go looking for her. Mind you, you can get a lot done in half an hour." Bracewell laughed when he realized what was going on "Thank you, thank you, Doctor!" "Come along, you two!" The Doctor said while leaving the room.

"So, you have enemies then?" Amy said, while the Doctor and Scarlett leaned against the TARDIS looking at each other "Everyone's got enemies." The Doctor said without looking away from Scarlett "Yeah, but mine's the woman outside Budgens with the mental Jack Russell. You've got, like, you know, arch-enemies." Amy said, getting antsy by the Doctor's looks at Scarlett "Suppose so." "And here's me thinking we'd just be running through time, being daft and fixing stuff. But no, it's dangerous." Amy said "Yup. Very. Is that a problem?" "I'm still here, aren't I?" Amy said "You're worried about the Daleks." Scarlett said after a moment of silence "I'm always worried about the Daleks." The Doctor said "We do have a bit of time, they need to build themselves up." "It's not that. There's something else. Something we've forgotten. Or rather you have." The Doctor said, the last bit at Amy "Me?" "You didn't know them, Amy. You'd never seen them before. And you should have done. You should." The Doctor said while entering the TARDIS with Amy and Scarlett at his heels. No one noticing the crack on the wall, the one from Amy's wall.


	4. Chapter 4

**So, you guys wanted me to change the format and I'm not so good with that stuff. But I tried, so please give me your opinion. Thanks for reading!**

Time of the Angels

"Wrong, wrong, mostly right but wrong." The Doctor chanted off while Scarlett and Amy exchanged a look of pure boredom "I love museums!" The Doctor said in a childishly excited tone to Scarlett and Amy, but mostly Scarlett.

"Yeah great. Can we go to a planet now?" Amy asked impatiently, she never liked museums.

"A big spaceship, Churchill's bunker you promised us a planet next." Scarlett said while pulling her puppy dog face; which the Doctor found VERY hard to ignore. It wasn't that Scarlett didn't like Museum, but she had already been to _plenty_ of them.

"Amy, Scarlett this isn't any old asteroid. It's the delirium archive, the final resting place of the headless monks the biggest museum ever." The Doctor said; he then swatted at Scarlett who was mimicking his movements in an over the top fashion.

"You've got a time machine," Amy said while feeling slight jealousy that Scarlett could get a reaction out of the Doctor so easily, "What do you need museums for?"

"WRONG!" The Doctor shouted, making Scarlett and Amy jump. "Very wrong!" The Doctor said loudly "Ooh, one of mine. Also one of mine." The Doctor said pointing at some stuff

"OOOOH, I SEE." Scarlett said like some big mystery had been unveiled "it's how you keep score!"

The Doctor ignored her, as he got extremely caught up in a dirty box, Amy and Scarlett ran over to look at it. Not impressed at its tattered appearance.

"Oh great, an old box." Said Amy sarcastically

"It's from one of the old star liners." The Doctor said, mostly to Scarlett; the one who was paying attention.

"A home box," He expanded when Scarlett lifted an eyebrow

"What's a home box?" Amy asked The Doctor in a bored tone.

"Like a black box on a plane, except it homes." The Doctor explained, still looking only at Scarlett "Anything happens to the ship, the home box flies home with all the flight data." The Doctor said extremely enthusiastically.

"So?" Amy asked annoyed that Scarlett seemed to get most of the Doctor's attention

"The writing, the graffiti; old high Gallifreyan," The Doctor said

"Your planet." Scarlett said with certainty

"How did you know?" The Doctor asked suspiciously

"You wouldn't be this excited." Scarlett replied while rolling her eyes.

"The lost language of the Timelords, There were days, there were many days, these words could burn stars, and raise up empires and topple gods." The Doctor spoke of it in a revere

"What does it say?" Scarlett asked curiously, after a few moments the Doctor replied, with a face that made it clear it hurt him to admit it

"Hello, Sweetie."

The Doctor started to try to slowly pick up the glass when the alarm went off and he dropped it out of shock. Scarlett rolled her eyes, took a step back, and kicked the glass so it shattered.

"Why are we doing this?" Amy asked once they were back in the TARDIS, just escaping.

"Cause someone on a spaceship 1200 years ago is trying to attract my attention." The Doctor explained Let's see if we can get the security playback working."

Then the T.V. screen showed a video of River Song taking off her glasses, winking to the camera and mouthing 'Hot stuff." Then she was by an airlock and a man's voice called out

"Parties over Dr. Song, yet still you're on board." He was an older, probably 50ish (One never could tell with those in the future) with soldiers behind him.

River laughed and said "Sorry, Alistair. I needed to see what was in your vault. Do you all know what's down there? Any of you? Because I'll tell you something. This ship won't reach its destination."

"Wait till she runs," The man said "Don't make it look like an execution."

River smiled and started speaking random words "Triple- seven, five, slash, three, four, nine by ten, zero, twelve, slash, acorn. Oh and I could do with an air corridor." She finished

The Doctor started running around the console pushing random buttons "What was that? What did she say?" Amy asked the Doctor confusedly

"Those were co-ordinates, weren't they?" Scarlett said to the still button pushing Doctor

"Correct!" The Doctor said in Scarlett's general direction

"Like I said on the dance floor," River started "You might want to find something to hold onto." Then then there was an ominous beeping sound and the man and his guards grabbed on to whatever they could find and River blew them a kiss: Then River went flying back straight into the TARDIS landing right on top of the Doctor

"Doctor?" River asked

"River." He acknowledged, Amy and Scarlett exchanged a look of interest

"Follow that ship." River told the Doctor, as they looked out the TARDIS doors

The TARDIS was out of control, River was doing her best to repair the damage the Doctor was doing and pilot to catch up with the ship.

"STAY CLOSE!" River called to the Doctor

"I'M TRYING." The Doctor replied annoyed,

"USE THE STABLIZERS!"

"THERE AREN"T STABLIZERS!" The Doctor called back

"THE BLUE SWITCHES." River yelled again trying to make the Doctor fly the Tardis correctly

"THE BLUE ONES DON'T DO ANYTHING, THEY'RE JUST BLUE." The Doctor yelled back

"YES THEY'RE BLUE," River pushed the blue switches "Blue stabilizers." The Tardis immediately quieted down, and River smiled at the Doctor

"See?" She asked the Doctor amusedly,

"Yeah, well, it's boring now, isn't it." Throwing Scarlett a look who was smiling into her hand, "They're boring-ers, blue boring-ers."

River chose that moment to turn around and tackle Scarlett with a hug; Scarlett laughed and hugged back and said "And how are you, Doctor Song?"

The Doctor and Amy looked stunned for a few moments, once the Doctor got himself under enough control to ask "You two know each other."

Scarlett just rolled her eyes and said "No, I just returned a hug to a woman I've never met before, of course I know her."

Amy came up behind the Doctor while River chatted happily with Scarlett and pushed buttons on the console "Doctor, how come she can fly the Tardis?"

"You call that flying the TARDIS? Ha!" The Doctor said while flopping on a jump seat and sulking and coming up with scenarios for why Scarlett knew River.

"OK. I've mapped the probability vectors, done a fold-back on the temporal isometry, charted the ship to its destination, and parked us right alongside." River said, while taking a little curtsy when Scarlett did over the top clapping

"Parked us? We haven't landed." The Doctor said

"Of course we've landed." River insisted "I just landed her."

"But it didn't make the sound." The Doctor protested

"What noise?" River asked

"You know, the…" The Doctor went on to poorly imitate the TARDIS landing sound

"It's not supposed to make that noise," River said, while Scarlett laughed "You leave the brakes on."

"Yeah, well, it's a brilliant noise." The Doctor said while shooting half-hearted glares at Scarlett's shaking form "I love that noise. Come along you two, let's have a look." The Doctor and Scarlett moved towards the door

"No, wait!" River yelled "Environment checks."

"Oh, yes, sorry! Quiet right. Environment checks!" Scarlett said before sticking her head out the door "Nice out."

River rolled her eyes and smiled when she saw the Doctor's soft laughter at Scarlett's consistent sarcasm.

"We're somewhere in the Garn Belt. There's an atmosphere. Early indications suggest-." River said, until she was cut off by the Doctor, who had stuck his head out.

"We're on Alfava Metraxis, the seventh planet of the Dundra System. Oxygen-rich atmosphere, toxins in the soft band, 11-hour day, and..." The Doctor stuck his head out again "Chances of rain later."

"He thinks he's so hot when he does that." River said chuckling, while the Doctor and Scarlett ran up to the console

"How come you can fly the TARDIS?" Amy asked

"Oh, I had lessons from the best." River said

"Well, yeah." The Doctor said smugly while sitting down

"It's a shame you were busy that day, me and Scarlett had a wonderful time." River said, deflating his ego and picking up her shoes "Right then, why did they land here?"

"They didn't land." The Doctor said

"Sorry?" River asked, surprised

"You should've checked the home box; it crashed." As River walked towards the door, the Doctor followed her. Once she stepped out the TARDIS, the Doctor shut the doors behind her and went to the console

"Explain!" Amy said "Who is she and how did she do that museum thing?"

The Doctor continued working the controls and said "It's a long story and I don't know most of it. Off we go!"

"What are you doing?" Amy asked

"Leaving." The Doctor said "She's got where she wants to go, let's go where we want to go."

"Are you basically running away?" Amy asked

"Yep." The Doctor said

"Why?" Amy asked saucily

"Cause she's the future, my future." The Doctor said tiredly

"You can't run away from that." Scarlett said incredulously

"Of course I can, time is not the boss of me." The Doctor said,

Scarlett was quiet for a moment and then said "Is that a planet out there?"

"Yes, of course." The Doctor said

"You promised us a planet, five minutes." Scarlett said, breaking out her puppy dog eyes. The Doctor looked conflicted then finally said

"Five minutes."

"Yes!" Amy said and high-fived Scarlett

"But that's all, cause I'm telling you now, that woman is not dragging me into anything!" The Doctor said as they headed to the door.

The Doctor, Scarlett, Amy, and River stood on a beach looking at the crashed ship, which was on top of a very old and large stone structure.

"What caused it to crash?" River asked "Not me."

"Nah," The Doctor said "The airlock would've sealed seconds after you blew it. According to the home box, the warp engines had a phase-shift. No survivors."

"A phase-shift would have to be sabotage. I did warn them." River said, in a rather good mood, considering the circumstances.

"About what?" The Doctor asked

"Well, at least the building was empty. Aplan temple. Unoccupied for centuries." River said without answering the Doctor's question, and started typing on her device.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Amy asked

"Amy, Professor River Song." The Doctor said;

THWACK

"What was that for?!" The Doctor yelled at Scarlett, who had hit him over the back of the head

"She's not a Professor yet!" Scarlett replied, testily

"Spoilers!" River said chuckling at Scarlett's hands on her hips and the Doctor rubbing the back of his head and grumbling.

"Yeah, but who is she and how did she do that? She just left you a note in a museum!" Amy asked

"Two things always guaranteed to show up in a museum:" River said while the Doctor wandered of

"The Home Box of category four starliner and, sooner or later, him. Its how he keeps score."

"We Know." Scarlett said laughing

"It's hilarious, isn't it?" River said, also laughing. The Doctor came up behind the three laughing women and sarcastically laughed

"I'm nobody's taxi service!" The Doctor said "I'm not gonna be there to catch you every time you feel like jumping out of a space ship."

"And you are so wrong, you don't only catch me, but other people too. Now, There's one survivor. There's a thing in the belly of that ship that can't ever die. Now he's listening!" River said when the Doctor paid attention, she then said into her device while walking away "You lot in orbit yet? Yeah, I saw it land. I'm at the crash site. Try and home in on my signal" River held up her device and yelled

"Doctor, can you sonic me? I need to boost the signal so we can use it as a beacon."

The Doctor used his sonic, and River did a small curtsy

"Oooh, Doctor you soniced her," Scarlett teased "Are you going to sonic me and Amy next."

That comment made the Doctor turn cherry red and Amy and Scarlett cackle. He tried very hard not to imagine why he would be "Sonicing" Scarlett

"We have a minute, shall we?" River said, pulling out her diary

"Where are we up to? Have we done Bone Meadows?" She directed this question at Scarlett, who was more behind the Doctor and Amy, Scarlett made slashing gestures against her throat, sending River a clear message.

"What's the book?" Amy asked

"Stay away from it." The Doctor warned

"What is it though." Amy still questioned

"Her diary."

"Our Diary." River corrected

"Her past, my...future. Time travel. We keep meeting in the wrong order." The Doctor explained

"Not just your future, Scars too." River added, when four soldiers appeared out of columns of dust, one of the soldiers approached River

"You promised me an army, Doctor Song." He said,

"No, I promised you the equivalent of an army. This is the Doctor, and Scarlett Williams." River said, The Doctor gave a lighthearted salute and wondered why River mentioned Scarlett as an equivalent to an army.

"Father Octavian, sir, ma'am. Bishop, second class." The man said shaking The Doctor's and Scarlett's hands "20 clerics at my command. The troops are already in the drop ship and landing shortly. Doctor Song was helping us with a covert investigation. Has Doctor Song explained what we're dealing with?"

"Doctor, what do you know of Weeping Angels?" River asked, and the Doctor and Scarlett immediately stiffened.

The Doctor, Scarlett and Amy walked about where the clergy set up camp, following Octavian. "The Angel, as far as we know, is still trapped in the ship." Octavian explained primarily to the Doctor and Scarlett "Our mission is to get inside and neutralize it. We can't get through up top, we'd be too close to the drives. According to this, behind the cliff face, there's a network of catacombs leading right up to the temple. We can blow through the base of the cliffs, get into the entrance chamber, then make our way up."

"Oh, good." Scarlett said sarcastically

"Good, ma'am?" Octavian

"Catacombs, probably dark ones. Dark catacombs, Brilliant Scarlett continued

"Technically, I think it's called a maze of the dead." Octavian expanded

"You can stop any time you like." The Doctor said in a sharp tone.

"Father Octavian?" A soldier called

"Excuse me, sir, ma'am." Octavian

"You're letting people call you "sir". You never do that." Amy said, sitting on the table "So, whatever a Weeping Angel is, it's really bad, yeah?"

"Now that's interesting..." The Doctor said to Amy "You're still here. Which part of "Wait in the TARDIS till I tell you it's safe" was so confusing?"

"Ooh, are you all Mr. Grumpy Face today?" Amy teased

"A Weeping Angel, Amy," Scarlett explained tiredly "is the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life form evolution has ever produced, and one is trapped inside that wreckage and we're supposed to climb in with a screwdriver and a torch; and assuming we survive the radiation, and the whole ship doesn't blow up in our faces; do something clever which we haven't actually thought of yet. That's our day, that's what we're up to. Any questions?"

Amy was quite until finally "How do you know all this stuff?"

"I've been wondering the same thing." The Doctor said turning to Scarlett, who gave a nervous laugh and deflated slightly

"Let's just say, this isn't my first experience with time travel and planets, and River pulling me into something ridiculously dangerous."

"But how-." The Doctor began

"Can I explain after we take on a Weeping Angel?" Scarlett asked impatiently

"Yes, you're right." The Doctor said to Amy, not taking his eyes off of Scarlett "I am definitely Mr. Grumpy face today."

"Doctor, Scarlett!" River called from the transport "Father Octavian!" The four of them walked to the transport,

"Why do they call them Father?" Amy asked

"He's their Bishop, they're his clerics." Scarlett explained "It's 51st Century, the church has moved on."

Inside the transport ship, on a screen, played footage of a Weeping Angel.

"What do you think?" River questioned "It's from the security cameras in the _Byzantium_ vault. I ripped it when I was on board. Sorry about the quality. Its four seconds. I've put it on loop."

"Yeah, it's an Angel. Hands covering its face." The Doctor confirmed

"You two have encountered the Angels before?" Father Octavian questioned

"Once," The Doctor said "on Earth, a long time ago. But those were scavengers, barely surviving."

"I met a pair couple ye- hundreds of years back," Scarlett said while examining the screen "Gave my mates Sam and Dean hell. Couldn't understand how the people were going missing."

"It's just a statue." Amy said confused

"It's a statue when you see it." River corrected

"Where did it come from?" The Doctor asked, also looking at the screen

"Oh, pulled from the ruins of Razbahan, end of last century." River explained "It's been in private hands ever since, dormant all that time."

"There's a difference between dormant and patient." Scarlett Said giving the Doctor a worried look

"What's that mean, it's a statue when you see it?" Amy asked, completely lost

"The Weeping Angels can only move if they're unseen. So legend has it." River explained

"No, it's not legend," The Doctor said "it's a quantum lock. In the sight of any living creature, the Angels literally cease to exist. They're just stone. The ultimate defense mechanism."

"What, being a stone?" Amy asked

"Being a stone...until you turn your back." Scarlett said

"The hyper-drive would've split on impact." The Doctor said as the group walked out of the transport "The whole ship will be flooded with radiation, cracked electrons, gravity storms, deadly to almost any living thing."

"Deadly to an Angel?" Octavian asked hopefully

"Dinner to an Angel. The longer we leave it, the stronger it will grow." The Doctor said "Who built that temple? Are they still around?"

"The Aplans," River read from her handheld "The indigenous life-form. They died out 400 years ago."

"200 years later, the planet was terraformed. Currently there are six billion human colonists." Octavian expanded on River's answer

"You lot, you're everywhere!" Doctor said, gesturing at Scarlett "Like rabbits! I'll never get done saving you."

"Sir, if there is a clear and present danger to the local population..." Octavian said

"Oh, there is. Bad as it gets. Bishop, lock and load!" Scarlett said smiling slightly

"Verger, how we doing with those explosives? Dr. Song, with me." Octavian commanded

"Two minutes. Hot Stuff, Lovesick, I need you." River said

The Doctor mouthed Lovesick and Hot Stuff, completely confused, until Scarlett yelled, from her spot next to River "I'M HOT STUFF!"

"Why am I lovesick?" He called a River, who just laughed

"Anybody need me? Nobody?" Amy said, hopefully from the transport entry, until she noticed the Angel had moved, now looking at her.

"I found this," River said, holding out a book to the Doctor, who took it "Definitive work on the Angels. Well, the only one. Written by a madman, it's barely readable, but I've marked a few passages."

"Not bad, bit slow in the middle, didn't you hate his girlfriend?" The Doctor said, finishing the book in a second "No, hang on, wait, wait!"

Amy popped her head out the transport and called "Dr. Song? Did you have more than one clip of the Angel?"

"No, just the four seconds." River assured

Amy frowned and went back inside the pod.

"This book is wrong! What's wrong with this book, its wrong." The Doctor complained

Amy continued to frown at the video loop, not even noticing the door behind her close and lock behind her.

River watched the Doctor look at the book, and she shot a glance at Scarlett, who was procuring herself a gun from a cleric who was having none of it.

"Oh, it's so strange when you go all baby-face. How early is this for you?" River asked the Doctor

"Very early." The Doctor said, not looking up from the book.

"Have you only just met Scarlett?" River asked, surprised

"Yes." The Doctor said rather defensive "Who is she to you? Who is she?"

River laughed and looked at Scarlett, who was having an argument with a cleric who refused her a gun.

"She is one of the smartest people I know," River said, seeing the Doctor lift his head to look at Scarlett "She's a genius."

"Mhhm, very smart." The Doctor agreed, without looking away from Scarlett

"She's very funny." River said smiling at the Doctor's fixation

"Very funny." The Doctor agreed again

"Rather pretty, too." River said almost laughing

"Beautiful." The Doctor said, a little dreamily, he then jerked when he realized what he said, shot River a dirty look with a red face and went back to looking at the book. He didn't mean for that to come out, yes Scarlett was smart and funny and really rather pretty…

"No!" The Doctor said in his mind "Don't go there."

"You look like I caught you with your hand in the cookie jar, and you look like a cherry." Scarlett said while walking up to River and The Doctor, causing River to shrug as to say "Yeah, I did." And the Doctor to blush harder.

"You know if you let me look at then book, this could go faster." Scarlett said, taking a seat next to Doctor, who handed her the book. She flipped through it quickly and said

"Why aren't there pictures?" Scarlett asked

Amy tried to turn off the TV but it kept coming back on, each time she tried, she got more and more frantic.

"You're just a recording." Amy said "You can't move."

Amy tried to pull the plug out, but couldn't get it out, and when she looked back to the recording, the Angel was closer to the camera.

Amy backed away to the Door and yelled "DOCTOR!"

"This whole book; it's a warning, about the Weeping Angels." Scarlett said "So why no pictures? Why not show us what to look out for?"

"There was a bit about images." River said

The Doctor flipped the pages for Scarlett and pointed at it.

"'That which holds the image of an angel becomes itself an angel.'" Scarlett read aloud, and she furrowed her brow.

"DOCTOR!" Amy yelled while trying to open the door.

"What does that mean? 'An image of an Angel becomes itself an Angel.'" River asked the Doctor and Scarlett

The Angel became solid in the middle of the transport.

"Doctor! It's in the room!" Amy yelled

Scarlett's eyes widened and she jumped up and yelled "Amy!"

And the three time travelers ran to the transport.

"DOCTOR!" Amy yelled as she punched on the keypad

"Are you all right? What's happening?" The Doctor asked when they reached the door.

"Doctor! Doctor, it's coming out of the television." Amy said "The Angel is here."

"Don't take your eyes off it!" The Doctor said while using his screwdriver on the keypad "It can't move if you're looking. What's wrong? It's deadlocked."

"There is no deadlock." River said, trying to override the controls.

"Don't blink, Amy! Don't even blink!" Scarlett yelled

"What are you doing?" River asked

"Cutting the power. It's using the screen, I'm turning the screen off." The Doctor said "It's no good, it's deadlocked the whole system."

"There's no deadlock." River yelled

"Well, there is now!" Scarlett said in a frustrated voice

"Help me!" Amy yelled

"Amy! Can you turn it off?" Scarlett yelled

"DOCTOR!" Amy yelled

"Yeah, Thanks Amy." Scarlett grumbled under her breath

"The screen, can you turn it off?" The Doctor yelled

"I tried." Amy said

"Try again, but don't take your eyes off the angel." The Doctor yelled

"I'm not!" Amy yelled back

"Each time it moves, it'll move faster. Don't even blink." The Doctor said, while he and River tried to override the controls and Scarlett read the book, trying to find something that could help.

"I'm not blinking! Have you ever tried not blinking?" Amy said, while winking one eye at a time. She went for the remote and switched it off, but it kept coming on.

"It just keeps switching back on!" Amy yelled

"Yeah, it's the Angel." The Doctor said

"But it's just a recording." Amy protested

"No, anything that takes the image of an Angel is an Angel." The Doctor said, and then to River "What are you doing?"

River used a small blowtorch on the transport "I'm trying to cut through. It's not even warm."

"There is no way in, it's not physically possible." Scarlett said while flipping through the book

"Doctor! What's it gonna do to me?" Amy asked, sounding sick

"Just keep looking at it. Don't stop looking!" The Doctor commanded

"Just tell me." Amy said

"Amy, don't look into the eyes, anywhere but the eyes." Scarlett yelled at her friend

"Why?" Amy said, while looking into the eyes

"What is it?" The Doctor asked

"'The eyes are not the windows of the soul, they are the doors. Beware what may enter there.'" Scarlett read with a worried look

"Doctor, what did you say?" Amy asked

"Don't look at the eyes!" The Doctor yelled, worried.

"No, about images, what did you say about images?" Amy asked frantically

"Whatever holds the image of an angel, is an angel." River yelled

"OK... Hold this." Amy said while holding out the remote "One, two, three, four..." And she pressed pause, on the static.

The Angel froze, the turned off, and the door opened. The Doctor, Scarlett and River ran in, and Scarlett unplugged the screen.

"I froze it!" Amy said excitedly "There was a sort of blip on the tape and I froze it on the blip. It wasn't the image of an angel any more. That was good, yeah? It was, wasn't it? That was pretty good."

"That was amazing!" River assured

"Scarlett, hug Amy." The Doctor commanded

"Why?" She asked, surprised.

"Cause, I'm busy." The Doctor said while looking at the screen.

Scarlett rolled her eyes and pulled Amy into her arms.

"You're brilliant!" River assured

"Thanks. Yeah. I kind of creamed it, didn't I?" Amy said proudly

"So it was here? That was the Angel?" River asked

"That was a projection of the Angel." The Doctor explained "It's reaching out, getting a good look at us. It's no longer dormant."

The soldiers set off the explosion and they all jumped a little. Then the Doctor and Scarlett ran to the door.

"It's gone positive!" A soldier yelled to Octavian

"Doctor, Scarlett, we're through!" Octavian yelled

The Doctor looked at Amy, River and Scarlett and said

"Okay, now it starts." He stepped out of the transport with Scarlett; Amy felt a pain in her eye and started to rub it.

"Coming?" River asked from the doorway

"Yeah, coming. There's just… something in my eye." Amy said

The Doctor jumped off the ladder, helped Scarlett down (For Gentlemanly reasons, not so he could grab her hand) and they joined Octavian.

"Do you have a gravity globe?" The Doctor asked

"Grav globe." Octavian commanded and one of the soldiers passed him sphere.

"Where are we?" Amy asked "What is this?"

"It's an Aplan motarium. Sometimes called a maze of the dead." River said

"And what's that?" Amy asked

"Well, if you happen to be a creature of living stone," The Doctor said before kicking the sphere, which rose into the air and lit up, showing lots of Statues "The perfect hiding place."

"I guess this makes it a bit trickier." Octavian said

"A bit, yeah." Scarlett said

"A stone angel on the loose amongst stone statues. A lot harder than I'd prayed for." Octavian said

"A needle in a haystack." Scarlett agreed

"A needle that looks like hay. A hay-like needle. Of death. A hay-alike needle of death in a haystack of, er, statues." The Doctor said and when Scarlett gave him a bemused look he said "No, yours was fine."

"Right. Check every single statue in this chamber." Octavian said to the soldiers "You know what you're looking for. Complete visual inspection. One question; how do we fight it?"

"We find it and hope." Scarlett said and The Doctor and her walked off, followed by Amy and River. But Octavian grabbed River's arm

"They don't know yet, do they?" The Bishop asked "Who and what you are"

"It's too early in their time stream." River whispered

"Well, make sure they don't work it out," Octavian said "Or they won't help us."

"I won't let you down." River said "Believe me, I have no intention of going back to prison."

"Sir? Side chamber. One visible exit." A soldier informed Octavian

"Check it out. Angelo, go with him." Octavian ordered

The Doctor shined his torch everywhere, standing next to Scarlett who was looking at each statue to. Amy stood a bit behind, and rubbed her eye. A slight grit came out, she jumped and used her full hand and sand came out.

"Are you alright?" River asked

"Yeah, I'm fine. So, what's a maze of the dead?" Amy asked

"Oh, it's not as bad as it sounds. It's just a labyrinth with dead people buried in the walls." And when Amy gave her a look River said "OK, that was fairly bad. Right give me your arm." She held up a syringe "This won't hurt a bit."

"Ow!" Amy yelped

"There, you see. I lied. It's a viro-stabilizer. Stabilizes your metabolism against radiation, drive burn, anything. You're going to need it when we get up to that ship." River explained

"So what's he like?" Amy asked while she watched the Doctor and Scarlett scour the room "In the future, I mean. Cos you know him in the future, don't you?"

"The Doctor?" River asked "Well, the Doctor's the Doctor."

"Oh, well that's very helpful. Mind if I write that down?" Amy said sarcastically

"Yes, we are." River said towards the Doctor

"Sorry, what?" The Doctor said while looking at River's device

"Talking about you." River explained

"I wasn't listening, I'm busy." The Doctor scoffed

"Maybe she thought you were listening, because that belongs the other way up." Scarlett said laughing and turning it for the Doctor, who blushed and looked at her.

"Yeah." He mumbled

"You're so his wife." Amy said

"Nope," River said in a chipper voice "His wife is much more than I am."

"You know her?" Amy asked excitedly

"Sure do," River smiled

"Can you believe this? We're hunting statues." A Cleric stated

"Better than chasing lava snakes." The other one, Angelo, said

A noise rang through the dark chamber.

"Actually, lava snakes weren't that bad." The Cleric said

The Cleric moved ahead through the cave out of Angelo's view, his torch began to flicker, and a noise like stone on stone echoed through the chamber.

"Who's there?" the Cleric yelled "Is someone there? Angelo? "He turned to look for Angelo "Angelo!" he turned back to see an Angel.

"Christian, is that you?" Angelo called from the other side of the room.

"Angelo," Christian said over the radio "Come and see this."

"What is it?" Angelo asked

"Just come and see it." Christian said again

"It's not a school trip. Just tell me." Angelo argued

"No, really, come and see." Christian persisted

Angelo followed Christian and was confronted by an Angel.

The Doctor, Amy, Scarlett and River where examining statues when the sound of gunfire, they ran back to the main chamber. A young cleric fired at a statue, the Doctor stopped to look at it and Scarlett looked worriedly.

"Sorry. Sorry, I thought... I thought it looked at me." The young cleric said

"We know what the Angel looks like. Is that the Angel?" Octavian asked

"No, sir." The young man said

"No, sir, it is not! According to the Doctor, we are facing an enemy of unknowable power and infinite evil. So it would be good, it would be very good, if we could all remain calm in the presence of decor." Octavian lectured, causing Scarlett to roll her eyes and go next to the cleric.

"What's your name?" She asked, unaware off the soft way the Doctor was looking at her

"Bob, Ma'am." The man said

"Nice name Bob." Scarlett smiled, and the man smiled back, a little more relaxed

"It's a Sacred Name. We all have Sacred Names, they're given to us in the service of the Church." Octavian explained

"Sacred Bob. More like Scared Bob now, eh?" She chuckled

"Yes, ma'am." Bob said a little ashamed

"Ah, good. Scared keeps you fast. Anyone in this room who isn't scared is a moron." Scarlett said while shooting Octavian a look "Carry on."

"We'll be moving into the maze in two minutes." Octavian announced and then said to Bob "You stay with Christian and Angelo. Guard the approach."

"Isn't there a chance this lot's just gonna collapse? There's a whole ship up there." Amy asked while the team moved on an upward passage

"Incredible builders, the Aplans." River said

"Had dinner with their chief architect once." The Doctor said "Two heads are better than one."

"You mean you helped him?" Amy asked

"No, I mean he had two heads." The Doctor said "That book, the very end, what did it say?"

"Hang on." Scarlett said while pulling the book out

"Read it to me." The Doctor said

"'What if we had ideas that could think for themselves? What if one day our dreams no longer needed us? When these things occur and are held to be true, the time will be upon us. The time of Angels.'" Scarlett read

"Hey, Angelo. Christian? Where are you?" Bob said over his radio

"Are we there yet? It's a hell of a climb." Amy asked/complained

"The maze is on six levels representing the ascent of the soul. Only two levels to go." River informed her

"Lovely species, the Aplans. We should visit them some time." The Doctor said smiling at Scarlett, who nodded

"I thought they were all dead?" Amy asked

"So is F. Scott. Fitzgerald," Scarlett said "And he still thinks my name is Zelda."

The Doctor frowned, at the idea of Scarlett with Fitzgerald and said "The Aplans are Very relaxed, sort of cheerful. That's having two heads. You're never short of a snog with an extra head."

"Doctor," Scarlett said, making the Doctor snap to attention "There's something, I don't know what it is…"

"Yeah, something's wrong." The Doctor agreed "Don't know what it is yet either, working on it. Then they started having laws against self-marrying and what was that about? But that's the church for you." When Scarlett gave him a look he said "Erm, no offence, Bishop."

"Quite a lot taken, if that's all right, Doctor." Octavian said

Once they were in a narrow passage lined with statues Octavian said "Lowest point in the wreckage is only about 50 feet up from here. That way."

"Church had a point, if you think about it. The divorces must have been messy." Amy said in a teasing way

"Oh!" Scarlett said suddenly, freezing, with all color draining from her face

"What's wrong?" Amy asked

"Oh." The Doctor said turning to look at Scarlett

"How did we not notice it?" Scarlett asked

"Low level perception filter, or maybe we're thick." The Doctor said

"What's wrong, sir, ma'am?" Octavian asked

"Nobody move. Everyone stay exactly where they are. Bishop, I am truly sorry. We've made a mistake and we are all in danger." Scarlett said

"What danger?" Octavian asked

"The Aplans." The Doctor said

"The Aplans?" Octavian asked confusedly

"They've got two heads." Doctor said

"Yes, I get that. So?" Octavian asked

"So why don't the statues?" Scarlett said, "Everyone, over there. Just move, don't ask questions, don't speak." She continued "OK. I want you all to switch off your torches."

"Ma'am?" Octavian asked, nervously

"Do it," The Doctor ordered as switched his off, and the others did

"OK. I'm going to turn off this one too, just for a moment." Scarlett said

"Are you sure about this?" River asked

Scarlett flipped her light off and back on.

"Oh, my God! They've moved." Amy said

All the status were facing them and end closer.

"They're Angels. All of them!" The Doctor yelled

"But they can't be." River protested

"Clerics, keep watching them." Scarlett said "Every statue in this maze, every single one, is a Weeping Angel. And They know we're here."

"Bob, come and see this." Angelo said over the radio

"Angelo?" Bob said

"I'm here, Bob. Come and see this." Angelo said over the radio

"Are you with Christian? The Bishop said you'd be five minutes." Bob said over the radio

"I'm here, Bob. Come and see this." Angelo said again

"Where are you?" Bob asked

"Through the arch, Bob. Honestly, you've got to come and see this." Angelo said

"What have you found?" Bob asked

"Come and see." Angelo Persisted

Bob walked forward through the archway and there was the Angel.

"There was only one Angel on the ship. Just the one, I swear." River assured

"Could they have been here already?" Amy asked

"The Aplans, how did they die out?" Scarlett asked

"Nobody knows." River

"We know." The Doctor corrected

"They don't look like Angels." Octavian said

"And they're not fast. You said they were fast. They should have had us by now." Amy said

"They're dying. Losing their form. They must have been down here for centuries, starving." The Doctor explained

"Losing their image." Amy said

"And their image is their power. Power. Power!" Doctor said

"Doctor?" Amy asked

"Don't you see?" The Doctor said "All that radiation spilling out, the drive burn. The crash wasn't an accident - it was a rescue mission, for the Angels. We're in the middle of an army and it's waking up."

"We need to get out of here fast." River said

"Bob, Angelo, Christian, come in, please. Any of you, come in!" Octavian said into his radio

"It's Bob, sir. Sorry, sir." Bob said over the radio

"Bob, are Angelo and Christian with you? All the statues are active. I repeat, all the statues are active!" Octavian said back over

"I know, sir. Angelo and Christian are dead, sir. The statues killed them, sir." Bob said without sadness

The Doctor took the radio from Octavian and said "Bob, Sacred Bob, it's me, the Doctor. Where are you now?"

"I'm talking to my..." Octavian argued

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, shut up!" The Doctor said to Octavian

"I'm on my way up to you, sir, I'm homing on your signal." Bob said

"Well done, Bob. Scared keeps you fast, Like Scarlett said, your friends, Bob, what did the Angel do to them?"

"Snapped their necks, sir." Bob said

"That's odd. That's not how the Angels kill you, they displace you in time. Unless they needed the bodies for something."

Octavian took the radio back and said "Bob, did you check their data packs for vital signs? We may be able to initiate a rescue plan."

"Don't be an idiot! The Angels don't leave you alive! Bob, keep running, but tell me, how did you escape?" The Doctor said after taking the radio back

"I didn't escape, sir. The Angel killed me, too."

The Doctor sent Scarlett a look of confusion, which she responded to with a shrug.

"What do you mean the Angel killed you too?" Scarlett said while taking the radio

"Snapped my neck, ma'am. Wasn't as painless as I expected but it was pretty quick, so that was something." Bob said in a matter of fact voice.

"If you're dead, how can I be talking to you?" Scarlett challenged

"You're not talking to me, ma'am. The Angel has no voice. It stripped my cerebral cortex from my body and re-animated a version of my consciousness to communicate with you. Sorry about the confusion." 'Bob' said

"So when you say you're on your way up to us..." Scarlett let her sentence trail off

"It's the Angel that's coming, ma'am, yes." Bob said

"No way out." The Doctor said

"Then we get out through the wreckage. Go!" Octavian ordered

"Go, go, go. All of you run!"

"Doctor? Scarlett?" Amy asked

"Yes, we're coming, just go." Scarlett ordered

Amy, River and the clerics left, leaving the Doctor, Scarlett and Octavian the only remaining ones in the room.

"Called you an idiot. Sorry, but there's no way we could have rescued your men." The Doctor said to Octavian

"I know that, sir. And when you've flown away in your little blue box, I'll explain that to their families." Octavian said

"You've clearly never been in battle." Scarlett said

"And you have?"

"More than I'd like to admit." Scarlett said with a look, as she watched Octavian stalk off the Doctor frowned and said

"You're going to have to explain later."

"I know." Scarlett said, took the radio and said "Angel Bob, which Angel am I talking to? The one from the ship?"

"Yes, Ma'am. The other Angels are still restoring." Bob replied promptly

"Ah, so the Angel is not in the wreckage. Thank you." She chuckled, hung up and grabbed the Doctor's hand so they could run together.

"Don't wait for us, go, run." The Doctor said when they came upon Amy standing in the passage

"I can't!" Amy said, while the two of them walked back to her "No, really, I can't."

"Why not?" The Doctor asked, squeezing Scarlett's hand to reassure her

"Look at it. Look at my hand. It's stone!" Amy yelled

"Well. There it is; the _Byzantium_." Octavian said, when they arrived in an empty chamber with the ship over them

"Well, it's got to be 30 feet. How do we get up there?" River asked

"Check all these exits. I want them all secure." Octavian Ordered

The Doctor flashed his torch into Amy's eyes

"You looked into the eyes of an Angel, didn't you?" Scarlett said in a worried tone

"I couldn't stop myself. I tried." Amy said, unhappy

"Listen. It's messing with your head. Your hand is not made of stone." The Doctor said, trying to convince her

"It is. Look at it!" Amy argued

"It's just messing with you, it's in your head." Scarlett said

"But that doesn't mean it isn't real!" Amy yelled

Suddenly the torchlights started to flicker

"The Angel is gonna come and it's gonna turn this light off, and then there's nothing I can do to stop it. So do it, concentrate, move your hand!" The Doctor ordered

"I can't." Amy said

"Then we're all gonna die." Scarlett stated

"You two won't." Amy argued

"They'll kill the lights." The Doctor said

The lights flickered off and on and the Angels slowly moved closer.

"You've got to go, you know you have. You've got all that stuff with River and that's all got to happen. You know you can't die here!" Amy yelled

"Time can be re-written." Scarlett said plainly

The lights flickered again and Amy looked at the Angels.

"Keep your eyes on it. Don't blink." The Doctor ordered

"Run!" Amy pleaded

"You see, I'm not going, I'm not leaving you here." The Doctor said

"Nor, am I." Scarlett said defiantly

"I don't need you two to die for me, do I look that clingy?"

"You can move your hand." The Doctor assured

"It's stone."

"It's not stone!" Scarlett yelled

"Those people up there will die without you two. If you stay here with me, you two will have as good as killed them." Amy argued

"Amy, you are my best friend, and I'm sorry." Scarlett said drawing disappointed look from the Doctor

"It's OK. I understand. You've got to leave me." Amy said

"I'm not leaving." She laughed "Sorry for this." Scarlett pulled a futuristic gun out and grazed her with it, leaving a burn mark

"OW!" Amy yelled

"See, not stone." Scarlett said while grabbing her friends' hands and pulling them behind

"You shot me." Amy accused

"I grazed you." Scarlett said "And we're alive because of it."

"The statues are advancing along all corridors. And, sir, my torch keeps flickering." A Cleric informed Octavian

"They all do." Octavian informed

"So does the gravity globe." River added

"Clerics, we're down to four men. Expect incoming." Octavian ordered

"Yeah, it's the Angels. They're coming. And they're draining the power for themselves." The Doctor said, running in on the heels of Scarlett

"Which means we won't be able to see them." Octavian said

"Which means we can't stay here." The Doctor said

"There are more incoming!" Octavian said

"Any suggestions?" River said hopefully

"The statues are advancing on all sides and we don't have the climbing equipment to reach the _Byzantium." _Octavian said

"There's no way up, no way back, no way out. No pressure, but this is usually when one you has a really good idea." River said to the Doctor and Scarlett.

"There's always a way out" The Doctor said a few times.

The lights flickered again and the Angels moved closer blocking the way out

"There's always a way out." The Doctor said again

"Scarlett? Can I speak to Scarlett, please?" Angel Bob said over the radio

"Hello?" Scarlett asked, in a confused voice

"Your power will not last much longer, and the Angels will be with you shortly. Sorry, Ma'am." Angel Bob said

"And you're telling me this, why?" Scarlett asked

"There's something the Angels are very keen you should know before the end." Angel Bob said

"And that would be?" Scarlett asked

"I died in fear." Angel Bob said

"I'm sorry?" Scarlett said surprised

"You told me my fear would keep me alive but I died afraid, in pain and alone. You made me trust you, and when it mattered, you let me down." Angel Bob continued

"What are they doing?" Amy whispered to River

"They're trying to make her angry. Which they think will make her distracted, they are very, very, wrong." River whispered back

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. The Angels were very keen for you to know that." Angel Bob said

"Well then, the Angels have made their second mistake because I'm not going to let that pass. I'm sorry you're dead, Bob, but I swear to whatever is left of you, they will be sorrier." Scarlett said with a cold fury creeping into her voice, which Amy had never heard

"But you're trapped, ma'am, and about to die." Angel Bob protested

"Yeah, I'm trapped. Speaking of traps, this trap has got a great big mistake in it. The stupidest one I've ever seen."

"What mistake, Ma'am?" The Angel Bob asked

"Trust me?" Scarlett said to Amy

"Yeah." Amy agreed

"Trust me?" Scarlett asked River

"Always." River said smiling

Scarlett raised her eyebrows at the Doctor who smiled and said "Of course."

"You lot?" She said to Octavian

"We have faith, ma'am." He replied

"Good," Scarlett smiled "I'm about to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous. When I do jump."

"Jump where?" Father Octavian asked

"Just jump, high as you can. Come on, leap of faith, Bishop. On my signal."

"You genius." The Doctor said smiling with awe when he realized her plan

"What signal?" Octavian asked

"Can't miss it." Scarlett said pointing her gun at the roof

"Sorry, can I ask again? You mentioned a mistake?" Angel Bob asked

"Oh, big mistake. Huge. There's one thing you never put in a trap, if you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there is one thing you never, ever put in a trap." Scarlett said, with the cold fury again

"And what would that be, ma'am?" Angel Bob asked

"Me!" Scarlett said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and she took the shot.


	5. Chapter 5

Flesh and Stone

Everyone landed and had to stumble or stand up. The Doctor stood and said

"Scarlett Williams you are a genius!" And gave her a hug, making River smile.

"You okay?" River asked Amy

"What happened?" Amy asked, confused

"We jumped." River explained

"Jumped where?" Amy asked, not grasping what just happened

"Look up!" Scarlett offered

"Where are we?" Amy asked, still completely at a loss to what had happened.

"Exactly where we were!" The Doctor yelled excitedly, like a giant puppy

"No we're not." Amy said, annoyed at the fact no one would give her a straight answer

"Move your feet!" The Doctor said and started sonicing the floor

"Doctor, what am I looking at? Explain." Amy demanded, when the Doctor didn't reply Scarlett rolled her eyes and said,

"The ship crashed with the power on, so the artificial gravity is still on to." She explained while Amy nodded "The Gravity globe gave us the boost we needed to get within its range, so we jumped, and landed." Scarlett jumped in place "Here."

"Doctor, Williams, The statues, they look more like Angels now." Octavian said while looking up/down at the Angels

"They're feeding on the radiation from the wreckage, draining all the power from the ship, restoring themselves. Within an hour, they'll be an army!" The Doctor explained hurriedly, the indentation opened up to the ship, just as the lights went out

"They're taking out the lights. Look at them, look at the Angels. Into the ship, now, quickly all of you!" The Doctor commanded while slipping in the door, then grabbing Scarlett's hand and helping her in.

"But how? Doctor!" Amy said, until she looked in to see the Doctor and Scarlett standing upright.

"It's just a corridor. The gravity orientates to the floor. Now, in here, all of you. " The Doctor said "don't take your eyes off the Angels. Move, move, move!" and he started to use the sonic on a keypad

"OK, men, go, go, go!" Octavian commanded as everyone got in, then he joined him "The Angels, presumably they can jump up too?"

The door closed once everyone was inside.

"They're here. Now. In the dark, we're finished. Run!" The Doctor said, right before the door our slid shut.

"This whole place is a death trap." Octavian said

"No, it's a time bomb. Well, it's a death trap and a time bomb. And now it's a dead end. Nobody panic." The Doctor commanded

The Angels started to try to open the door

"Oh, just me then. What's through here?" The Doctor asked

"Secondary flight deck." River explained

"OK. so we've basically run up the inside of a chimney, yeah? So what if the gravity fails?" Amy asked

"I've thought about that." Scarlett said

"And?" Amy asked

"We'd all plunge to our gruesome death." Scarlett said in tone that implied that it could be worse

"The security protocols are still live. There's no way to override them, it's impossible." The Doctor said

"How impossible?" River asked

"Two minutes."

Suddenly the door they had used to get in opened.

"The hull is breached and the power's failing." Octavian said

The lights went out, and came back one to see an Angel's arm

"Sir! Incoming!" A Cleric said

"Doctor! Lights." Amy said

The Doctor used his sonic to help River briefly and an Angel was making its way inside, the lights went on and back one, four Angels

"Clerics, keep watching them." Octavian said to his men

"And don't look at their eyes. Anywhere else. Not the eyes. I've isolated the lighting grid. They can't drain the power now." The Doctor said, still sounding worried

"Good work, Doctor." Octavian said

"Yes. good. Good in many ways, good you like it so far..." The Doctor

"So far?" Scarlett asked, still keeping her eyes on the Angels

"Well, there's only one way to open this door. I guess I'll need to route all the power in this section through the door control." The Doctor said sheepishly

"Good, fine, do it." Octavian said

"Including the lights. All of them. I'll need to turn out the lights." The Doctor said

"How long for?" Octavian asked tensely

"Fraction of a second, maybe longer. Maybe quite a bit longer." The Doctor said worriedly

"Maybe?" Octavian said

"I'm guessing. We're being attacked by statues in a crashed ship, there isn't a manual for this!" The Doctor said, starting to get a bit frenzied

"Doctor, we lost the torches. We'll be in total darkness." Amy argued

"Doctor," Scarlett said while turning around to face him, he immediately responded and looked at her feeling very inadequate "It's okay, we might be able to hold them for a few seconds." She smiled and the Doctor felt the tension dissolve out of him.

"Dr. Song, I've lost good Clerics today. You trust this man?" Octavian asked River

"I absolutely trust him." River assured

"He's not some kind of madman then?" Octavian asked

"I absolutely trust him." River repeated with a slight smile.

"Excuse me." The Doctor said while going back to work on the door

"I'm taking your word, because you're the only one who can manage this guy. But that only works so long as he doesn't know who you are. You cost me any more men, and I might just tell him. Understood?" Octavian hissed at River, who said

"You clearly aren't very observant, I'm not his handler. Who calmed him down when he was frightened?" Octavian raised an eyebrow, and looked over at Scarlett, who was looking at the door.

"OK. Doctor, we've got your back." Octavian said

"Bless you. Bishop." The Doctor said, semi-sarcastically

"Combat distance, ten feet. As soon as the lights go down, continuous fire. Full spread over the hostiles. Do not stop firing while the lights are out. Shot gun protocol, we don't have bullets to waste." Octavian ordered his men, while they got into position, Scarlett standing behind them all holding her gun up.

"Amy, when the lights go down, the wheel should release. Spin it clockwise, four turns." The Doctor said

"Ten." Amy said

"No, four, four turns." Doctor said worriedly

"Yeah, four, I heard you." Amy said while standing next to the door.

"Ready!" The Doctor said as he placed his sonic on the circuit

"On my count then. God be with us all. Three... two...one." Octavian said, the lights went out "Fire!"

The Clerics and Scarlett opened fired, lighting up the room enough to see the angels getting closer and closer.

"Turn!" The Doctor yelled

"Doctor, quickly!" River yelled

"It's opening, it's working." Amy yelled while turning it

Amy, River and Scarlett slipped through the door, and the clerics and Octavian did next, then finally the Doctor, who just slipped through in time. The Doctor opened another door which they all went through, and the Doctor slipped in. The Doctor immediately ran over to the controls on the flight deck.

"Doctor!" Amy yelled, and then she asked clerics as they placed devices on the doors "What are you doing?"

"Magnetized the door. Nothing could turn that wheel now." Octavian said smugly

"Oh, yeah?" Scarlett challenged, and the wheel started turning

"Dear God!" Octavian said, terrified

"Ah, now you're getting it! You've bought us time though, that's good. I am good with time." The Doctor said

"Doctor!" Amy said as another door's wheel started turning

"Seal that door. Seal it now!" Octavian commanded

The clerics sealed.

"We're surrounded!" River said, nervously

The third began to turn

"Seal it, seal that door." Octavian commanded again. "Doctor, how long have we got?"

"Five minutes, max." The Doctor said

"Nine." Amy said

"He said Five." Scarlett said looking over at Amy

"Five, right yeah." Amy said

"Why d'you say nine?" The Doctor asked

"I didn't." Amy protested

"We need another way out of here." River said, cutting into the Doctor's musings

"There isn't one." Octavian said pessimistically

"Yeah, there is, course there is. This is a galaxy class ship, goes for years between planet-falls. So," The Doctor said while snapping his fingers "what do they need?"

"Oh that is brilliant." Scarlett said while looking at the Doctor, who snapped his fingers and pointed at her and smiled.

"Of course, what? What do they need?" Amy asked, lost, yet again.

"How can we get in there?" River asked

"Well, it's a sealed unit, but they must have installed it somehow. This whole wall should slide up," The Doctor said while pushing against the back wall "There's clamps. Release the clamps!" He said while sonicing the clamps.

"What's through there? What do they need?" Amy asked

"They need to breathe." River explained

The rear wall began to rise and Amy stuttered out "But that's... That's a..." at the sight of vegetation and trees.

"It's an oxygen factory." River explained

"It's a forest." Amy breathed out

"It's both." Scarlett said smiling

"And, if we're lucky, an escape route." The Doctor said

"Eight." Amy whispered

"What did you say?" River asked

"Nothing." Amy said

"Is there another exit? Scan the architecture, we don't have time to get lost in there." The Doctor said to Octavian. He caught Scarlett's eyes, and she smiled, making him start to beam.

"On it!" Octavian said while stepping into the forest "Stay where you are until I've checked the Rad levels."

"But trees! On a space ship?" Amy asked

"Oh, more than trees, way better than trees. You're going to love this" The Doctor said while stepping into the forest "Treeborgs!" He said while pulling a section up of tree, showing wires.

"Stop picking at the trees." Scarlett reprimanded, and the Doctor gave her a sheepish look and put the piece back down.

"Trees plus technology. Branches become cables, become sensors on the hull. A forest sucking in starlight, breathing out air. It even rains. There's a whole mini-climate. It is an eco-pod running through the heart of the ship. A forest in a bottle, on a space ship, in a maze. Have I impressed you yet, Amy Pond?" The Doctor said while smiling.

Amy chuckled and said "Seven."

"Seven?" The Doctor asked while jumping back on the flight deck and walking up to Amy.

"Sorry, what?" Amy asked

"You said seven." The Doctor said while studying Amy's face

"No. I didn't." Amy protested

"Yeah, you totally did." Scarlett said, looking at her friend worriedly

"Doctor! There's an exit, far end of the ship, into the Primary Flight Deck." Octavian announced

"Good, that's where we need to go." The Doctor said

"Plotting a safe path." Octavian said

"Quick as you like!" The Doctor said, still looking at Amy.

"Doctor? Excuse me. Hello, Doctor? Angel Bob here, sir." Angel Bob said over the radio

The Doctor sat in the command seat and spoke into the radio "Ah. there you are, Angel Bob. How's life? Sorry, bad subject." He looked over to see if Scarlett cheered up, but she just looked at Amy worriedly.

"The Angels are wondering what you hope to achieve." Angel Bob asked

"Achieve? We're not achieving anything. We're just hanging. It's nice in here, consoles, comfy chairs, a forest. How's things with you?" The Doctor joked

"The Angels are feasting, sir. Soon we will be able to absorb enough power to consume this vessel, this world, and all the stars and worlds beyond." Angel Bob said forebodingly

"Well, we've got comfy chairs, did I mention?" The Doctor said, not at all impressed.

"We have no need of comfy chairs." Angel bob said

"I made him say comfy chairs!" The Doctor said, winking at Scarlett, who smiled

Amy chuckled and said "Six."

The Doctor stood up quickly and said into the radio, a bit frantic "Okay, well, enough chat. Here's what I want to know: what have you done to Amy?"

"There is something in her eye." Angel Bob said

"What's in her eye?" The Doctor asked

"We are." Angel Bob said

"What's he talking about? Doctor, I'm five." Amy said, the realizing why everyone turned to look at her she continued "mean, five. Fine! I'm fine."

"You're counting." River said

"Counting?" Amy asked confused

"You're counting down. From ten. You have been for a couple of minutes." The Doctor said worriedly

"Why?" Amy asked, looking scarred

"I don't know." The Doctor said

"Well, counting down to what?" Amy asked getting frantic

"God knows." Scarlett said tensely

"We shall take her. We shall take all of you. We shall have dominion over all time and space." Angel Bob said over the radio

"Get a life, Bob. Oops, sorry again. There's power on this ship, but nowhere near that much." The Doctor said, a bit more intense

"With respect, sir, there is more power on this ship than you yet understand." Angel Bob said, The Doctor shot a look at Scarlett who shrugged.

Suddenly there was an ear-splitting screeching and everyone looked at each other in slight terror.

"Dear God, what is it?" River said, terrified

"They're back." Octavian announced

"It's hard to put in your terms, Dr. Song, but as best I understand it, the Angels are laughing." Angel Bob said

"Laughing?" The Doctor asked

"Because you haven't noticed yet. The Doctor in the TARDIS hasn't noticed." Angel Bob mocked

"Doctor!" Octavian said getting antsy

The Doctor stood and said "No, wait, there's something...I've..." He turned around to see a glowing crack high on the wall, just like the one in Amy's room "missed." The Doctor ran to the wall and looked at it

"That's... That's like the crack from my bedroom wall from when I was a little girl." Amy said

"Yes." The Doctor agreed.

"OK, enough, we're moving out!" Octavian said, taking things into his own hands.

"Yeah. Fine!" The Doctor said while sonicing the crack

"What are you doing?" River asked

"Right with you." The Doctor said distractedly

"We're not leaving without you!" River protested

"River," Scarlett said "its fine, I'll stay with him."

The Doctor opened his mouth to protest but one look from Scarlett had him close it and go back to scanning the crack.

"Miss Pond, Dr. Song, now!" Octavian said and River grabbed Amy to pull her with them.

"So, what are you?" The Doctor asked while looking at his screwdriver, feeling himself blush a little when Scarlett looked over his shoulder to see it.

"Oh, that's bad. Ah, that's extremely very not good." The Doctor said, while pressing his ear to the wall. Scarlett shrugged and put her on it to. When they both turned to leave, they found they were surrounded by Angels.

"Do not blink." The Doctor commanded, they both climbed over the table and Scarlett gave a little yelp and whipped around to see the Doctor was grabbed by his jacket collar.

As the Clerics, Amy, and River made their way through the forest, Amy started to sway and look sick.

"Amy?" River asked, grabbing Amy's arms "Amy, what's wrong?"

Scarlett looked at the Angels and the ones behind the Doctor nervously

"You had a chance to kill me," The Doctor said "Why aren't I dead?" Scarlett nodded at the Angels and the Doctor nervously turned around to see the angels with their arms raised towards the crack.

"Good, and not so good. Oh, this isn't even a little bit good. I mean, is that it? Is that the power that brought you here? That's pure time energy, you can't feed on that. That's the power, that's the fire at the end of the universe. I'll tell you something else." And the Doctor slipped out of his jacket, grabbed Scarlett's hand and started to run, calling back_ "_Never let me talk!"

"Amy, what's wrong?" River asked

"Four." Amy said, while curling up on a rock

"Med-scanner, now!" River yelled, taking it from a cleric

"Dr. Song, we can't stay here, we've got to keep moving." Octavian protested

"We wait for the Doctor and Scarlett." River said while scanning Amy

"Our mission is to make this wreckage safe and neutralize the Angels. Until that is achieved-." Octavian started to lecture River, but then was cut off.

"Father Octavian, when the Doctor is in the room, your only mission is to keep him alive long enough to get everyone else home. And the only way to do that is to keep Scarlett close to you, because he'll gravitate to her. Now, we've lost them both and if they're dead back there, I'll never forgive myself, and if they're alive, I'll never forgive them. And, Scarlett, you're standing right behind me, aren't you?"

"Hell, yeah." Scarlett said coming to stand next to River, leaving the Doctor to his musing over what River meant by him "Gravitating" to Scarlett.

"I hate you." River said

"Love you too." Scarlett said while kneeling next to Amy.

"Bishop, the Angels are in the forest." The Doctor said while kneeling next to Amy also

"We need visual contact on every line of approach." Octavian ordered

"How did you get past them?" River asked

"Found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe." The Doctor explained

"What was it?" Amy asked in a sickly voice

"The end of the universe. Let's see here." Scarlett said while taking the med-scanner, angling it so the Doctor could see it to.

"So. what's wrong with me?" Amy asked feebly

"Nothing. you're fine." River assured

"Everything, you're dying." The Doctor said, "OW!" He yelled, jerking away when Scarlett elbowed him hard in the ribs.

"Yes, you're right, if we lie to her, she'll get all better!" The Doctor said to Scarlett sarcastically "Right. Amy! Amy. What's the matter with Amelia? Something's in her eye. What does that mean? Doesn't mean anything."

"Doctor." Amy said

"Busy." The Doctor said

"Scared!" Amy argued

"Course, you're dying, shut up!" The Doctor said again

"Amy, let them think." River said, looking between the Doctor and Scarlett

"What happened?" The Doctor said while standing up and helping Scarlett up "She stared at the Angel, she looked into the eyes of an angel for too long..."

"Sir! Angel, incoming!" A cleric yelled

"And here." Another cleric said

"Keep visual contact, do not let it move!" Octavian commanded

"Come on; come on, wakey, wakey! She watched an Angel climb out of the screen. She stared at the Angel and-." The Doctor said

"The image of an Angel is an Angel." Scarlett finished for him

"A living image in a human mind. We stare at them to stop them getting closer, we don't even blink and that's exactly what they want" The Doctor said getting more excited

"Because as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside. There's an Angel in her mind." Scarlett finished for him and they both jumped, realizing what they had just figured out.

"Three. Doctor, it's coming. I can feel it. I'm going to die!" Amy said

"Please just shut up, I'm thinking. Now counting, what's that about?" The Doctor said, and then he said into the radio "Bob, why are they making her count?"

"To make her afraid, sir." Angel Bob replied

"OK, But why. What for?" The Doctor asked

"For fun, sir." Angel Bob replied, making the Doctor, for lack of a better word, growl and throw the radio.

"Doctor, what's happening to me? Explain!" Amy asked

"Inside your head, in the vision centers of your brain, there's an Angel," The Doctor said while sitting back down next to her "It's like there's a screen, a virtual screen inside your mind, and the Angel is climbing out of it, and it's coming to shut you off."

"Then what do I do?" Amy asked

"Well, if it was a real screen, we would just pull the plug." Scarlett said while pacing back and forth

"But we can't just knock her out, the Angel would take over!" The Doctor protested while hopping up

"Then what? Quickly!" River said

"We've got to shut down the vision centers of her brain." Scarlett said looking at the Doctor

"Pull the plug, starve the angel." The Doctor agreed, looking back at her

"Doctor, she's got seconds." A worried River said

"To starve your lungs-." Scarlett started

"You'd stop breathing." The Doctor finished

"Amy, close your eyes!" The Doctor and Scarlett said simultaneously looking over at Amy

"No, no, I don't want to." Amy protested

"Good, because that's not you, that's the Angel inside you, it's afraid! Do it! Close your eyes!" The Doctor said, Amy gave him one last frightened look and shut her eyes. The readings on the med-scanner reverted back to green.

"She's normalizing," River announced "You two did it."

The Doctor heard none of what River said, he just smiled at Scarlett who smiled back.

"Sir? Two more incoming." A cleric announced to the group, breaking the Doctor's trance.

"Three more over here." Another one called

"Still weak, dangerous to move her." River said, referring to Amy

"So, can I open my eyes now?" Amy asked while sitting up

"Amy, listen to me. If you open your eyes now for more than a second, you will die. The Angel is still inside you. We haven't stopped it, we've just sort of...paused it. You've used up your countdown. You cannot open your eyes." The Doctor said, while Scarlett gave her a side hug.

"Doctor, we're too exposed here. We have to move on." Octavian said

"We're exposed everywhere, and Amy can't move, and anyway, that's not the plan." The Doctor said while straightening up

"What's the plan?" Scarlett said while standing up, giving the comforting duties to River.

"I don't know yet, I haven't finished talking. Right! Father, you and your Clerics will stay here, look after Amy. If anything happens to her, I'll hold each of you personally responsible, twice." The Doctor gave the men a threatening look "Scarlett, River, us three, we're going to find the Primary Flight Deck which is…" He licked his finger and held it up to test the air "a quarter mile straight ahead. We'll stabilize the wreckage. Stop the Angels, and cure Amy."

"How?" Scarlett asked

"I'll do a thing." The Doctor said

"You have no idea, do you?" Scarlett said, slightly bemused

"Yes I do, it's a thing in progress. Respect the thing. Moving out!" The Doctor said

"Doctor, I'm coming with you. My Clerics can look after Miss Pond. These are my best men, they'd lay down their lives in her protection." Octavian said

"I don't need you." The Doctor said simply

"I don't care. Where Dr. Song goes, I go." Octavian insisted, as River walked over to them

"Are you two engaged or something?" The Doctor asked

"Yes, in a manner of speaking. Marco, you're in charge till I get back." Octavian ordered while Scarlett said in a teasing manner to River

"And you didn't think to tell me."

"Doctor... Please, can't I come with you?" Amy asked, a tad pathetically

"You'd slow us down, Miss Pond." Octavian said in a demeaning way

"I don't want to sound selfish, but you'd really speed me up." Amy said

The Doctor sat down next to Amy and said "You'll be safer here. We can't protect you on the move. I'll be back for you soon as I can. I promise."

"You always say that." Amy said grudgingly

"I always come back." The Doctor countered while standing up "Good luck everyone. Behave. Do not let that girl open her eyes. And keep watching the forest. Stop those Angels advancing. Amy, later!" The Doctor tapped Amy on her head "River, going to need your computer."

"Be safe Amy." Scarlett called as she walked away

"Be safe, Amy." Amy said in a ridiculous voice under her breath "Now excuse me while I go make doe eyes at the Doctor and act all smart and-."

"You should be nicer to her."

Amy jumped as the Doctor spoke from right in front of her.

"Amy. You need to start trusting me, it's never been more important." The Doctor said

"But you don't always tell me the truth." Amy argued

"If I always told you the truth, I wouldn't need you to trust me." The Doctor pointed out

"Doctor, the crack in my wall, how can it be here?" Amy asked

"I don't know yet, but I'm working it out. Now, listen. Remember what I told you when you were seven?" The Doctor said while looking at Scarlett, who was conversing with River, in a wistful way.

"What did you tell me?" Amy asked

The Doctor rested his forehead against hers and said "No, no... That's not the point. You have to remember." He kissed Amy on her forehead and left.

"Remember what? Doctor? Doctor?" Amy called

Octavian led the way for River, Scarlett and the Doctor through the forest, a beeping sound rang out and the Doctor checked the device that beeped.

"What's that?" Scarlett asked, while leaning over his shoulder,

"Readings from the crack." The Doctor explained, still looking at the device

"How can it be the end of the universe?" Scarlett asked, still leaning to look

"Here's what I think. One day there'll be a very big bang, so big every moment in history, past and future, will crack." The Doctor said finally looking at Scarlett, whose face was only inches away from his, they both looked at each other for a good moment until River said, almost laughing,

"Is that possible? How?"

"How can you be engaged in a manner of speaking?" Scarlett retorted looking away from the Doctor, who turned beet red once she did.

"Well...sucker for a man in uniform." River teased

"Dr. Song is in my personal custody. I released her from the Stormcage Containment Facility four days ago and I am legally responsible for her until she has accomplished her mission and earned her pardon. Just so we understand each other." Octavian said while walking over to them

"Stormcage, River? Is the food still bad?" Scarlett asked

"Atrocious." River said winking at her, while the Doctor looked completely baffled as to why his companion had been in Stormcage. The woman were saved by the Doctor's device beeping again.

"What? What is that?" River asked

"The date! The date of the explosion where the crack begins." The Doctor announced

"And for those of us who can't read the base code of the universe?" River said sardonically

On the screen appeared 26/06/2010.

"Amy's time!" The Doctor said

Amy sat with her eyes shut, completely and utterly bored.

"So, what's happening? Anything happening out there?" She yelled to the soldiers

One of the angels reached out into a tree and pulled out wires, causing the lights to flicker.

"Are you getting this too?" One of the Clerics, Marco, asked

"The trees? Yeah." A cleric said

"What's wrong with the trees?" Amy asked

"Here too, sir. They're ripping the Treeborgs apart." Another cleric said

"And here. They're taking out the lights." A cleric said

"What is it? What's happening? Tell me. I can't see." Amy asked

"It's the trees, ma'am. The trees are going out." Marco informed her

The angels started to advance while the lights flickered.

As the Doctor, Scarlett, River and Octavian stood outside of the primary flight deck, the Doctor started to take readings from the device and Octavian tried to look for a way in.

"It doesn't open it from here, but it's the Primary Flight Deck. This has got to be a service hatch or something." Octavian announced to the group.

"Hurry up and open it, time's running out." River snapped

"What? What did you say? Time's running out, is that what you said?" The Doctor asked, looking up at River

"Yeah. I just meant-" River said

"I know what you meant. hush! But what if it could?" The Doctor said, this last bit to Scarlett

"Time run out?" Scarlett asked

"Got it!" Octavian yelled

"Angels advancing, sir." A cleric said

"Over here, again." Another one said

"Weapons primed. Combat distance five feet. Wait for it!" Marco ordered

"What is it? What's happening, just tell me!" Amy said while standing up

"Keep your position and, ma'am, keep your eyes shut!" A bright light appeared and spread "Wait!"

"The ship's not on fire. Is it?" Marco asked

"Can't be. The compressors would have taken care of it." A cleric said "Marco, the Angels have gone. Where'd they go?"

"What, the Angels?" Amy asked

"This side's clear too, sir." Another cleric said

"The Angels have gone?" Amy asked

"There's still movement out there," Marco said while looking at a handheld "but away from us now. It's like they're running."

"Running from what?" Amy asked

"Phillip, Crispin, need to get a closer look at that." Marco said and the other two clerics headed towards the light

"What are you all looking at? What's there?" Amy asked

"Cracks in time, time running out... No, couldn't be" The Doctor said as he put his hands on Scarlett's upper arms and looked into her eyes "How is a duck pond a duck pond if there aren't any ducks? And she didn't recognize the Daleks! OK, time can shift. Time can change. Time can be rewritten. Ah! Oh!"

"It's like, I don't know...a curtain of energy, sort of shifting. Makes you feel weird, sick." Marco explained

"And you think it scared the angels?" Amy asked

"What could scare those things?" a cleric asked

Amy shifted around a little

"What are you doing?" Marco asked

"Point me at the light." Amy demanded

"You can't open your eyes." Marco pointed out

"Not for more than a second, that's what the Doctor said. Still got a bit of countdown left." Amy argued

"Ma'am. you can't." Marco said

"I need to see it. Am I looking the right way? I have to be quick." Amy asked

Marco pointed her in the right direction "Very quick!"

"Ok," Amy said while opening her eyes "It's the same shape! It's the crack in my wall."

"Close your eyes. Now!" Marco commanded

"It's following me! How can it be following me?" Amy asked then she fell to her knees, Marco grabs her and forces her eyes shut.

"Are you OK?" He asked

"Yeah. It was the same shape!" Amy said

"Marco, you want me to get a closer look at that?" the cleric asked

"Go for it. Don't get too close." Marco said

"Hang on, what about the other two? Why not just wait 'til they're back?" Amy asked

"What other two?" A confused Marco asked

"The ones you sent before." Amy elaborated

"I didn't send anyone before." Marco said slowly

"You did. I heard you. Crispin and Phillip." Amy said, annoyed

"Crispin and who?" Marco asked

"Dr. Song, get through, now." Octavian said while helping River through the hatch "Doctor? Williams?"

The Doctor continued holding Scarlett's arms and looking at her intensely, Scarlett returned the look

"Time can be unwritten." The Doctor stated

"Amy, there never was a Crispin or a Phillip on this mission, I promise you." Marco said

"No, I heard you. Before you sent Pedro, you sent Crispin and Phillip, and now you can't even remember them. Something happened. I don't know what, and you don't even remember!" Amy said getting frustrated

"Pedro?" Marco asked in a confused tone

"Yeah, before you sent Pedro." Amy assured

"Who's Pedro?" Marco asked

"It's been happening and I haven't even noticed!" The Doctor said getting excited

"Doctor, we've have to move." Octavian insisted

"What do you mean?" Scarlett asked the Doctor, blanking Octavian

"The CyberKing! A giant cyberman walks over all of Victorian London and no-one remembers." The Doctor said getting excited

"We have to move it! The Angels could be here any second." Octavian said placing his hand on the Doctor's shoulder, who shrugged it off

"Never mind the Angels. There's worse here than Angels!" The Doctor said getting frenzied

Suddenly the lights went off and the Doctor and Scarlett looked to see an Angel with its arm around Octavian's neck.

"I beg to differ, sir." Octavian said

The Doctor scanned the angel with his sonic

"Let him go." The Doctor ordered

"Well, it can't let me go, sir, not while you're looking at it." Octavian pointed out

"I can't stop looking at it, it'll kill you." The Doctor argued

"It'll kill me anyway. There's no way out of this. You have to leave me!" Octavian ordered

"Can you, I don't know, wiggle out?" Scarlett offered

"No. it's too tight. There's nothing you can do." Octavian said

"Something's happening! Pedro was here a second ago and now you can't even remember him!" Amy said, with anxiety

"There never was a Pedro. There's only ever been the two of us here!" Marco argued

"No, there were five of us. Why can't you remember?" Amy said

"Listen, listen. I need to get a closer look at that light, whatever it is. Don't worry, I won't get too close." Marco said, ignoring all logic

"No, you can't. You mustn't." Amy said frantically

"Here, spare communicator." Marco said while placing it in her hand "I'll stay in touch the whole time."

"You won't. If you go back there what happened to the others will happen to you!" Amy insisted

"There weren't any others!" Marco said, frustrated

"There won't be any YOU if you go back there." Amy said

"Two minutes, I promise." Marco said while leaving

"Please, just listen to me!" Amy yelled

"Sir, there's nothing you can do." Octavian persisted

"You're dead if we leave you." The Doctor said

"Yes, yes, I'm dead. And before you go-." Octavian said before getting cut off by Scarlett

"We're not leaving!"

"Listen to me. It's important! You can't trust her." Octavian said

"Trust who?" The Doctor asked, letting his eyes drift to Scarlett.

"River Song." Octavian explained "You think you know her, but you don't. You don't understand who or what she is."

"Then tell me." The Doctor asked

"I've told you more than I should. Now, please, you have to go. It's your duty to your friends." Octavian ordered

"Just tell me why she was in Stormcage?" The Doctor asked

"She killed a man, a good man, a hero to many." Octavian said cryptically

"Who?" The Doctor asked

"You don't want to know, sir. You really don't." Octavian stated

"Who did she kill?" The Doctor insisted

"Sir, the Angels are coming. You have to leave me." Octavian insisted

"You'll die." Scarlett stated

"I thought you'd be fine with that." Octavian said

"A good soldier doesn't dwell on the dead, but does their best to protect the living." Scarlett stated

"Then I will die in the knowledge that my courage did not desert me at the end. For that, I thank God and bless the path that takes you to safety." Octavian said

"I wish I'd known you better." The Doctor offered

"I think, sir, you know me at my best." Octavian said

"Ready?" Scarlett asked

"Content." Octavian said with closed eyes

The Doctor and Scarlett ran to the hatch and shut it.

"There's a teleport! If I can get it to work, we can beam the others here. Where's Octavian?" River said

"Octavian's dead, so is that teleport. You're wasting your time. I'm going to need your communicator." The Doctor said while taking the communicator

"Hello, are you there? Hello? Hello?" Amy asked into the radio

"I'm here. I'm fine. I'm quite close to it now." Marco said back

"Then come back! Come back now, please." Amy begged

"It's weird looking at it. It feels really..." Marco said and then static played on the radio

"Really what? Hello? Really what? Hello? Hello? Hello? Please say you're there. Hello? Hello!" Amy said into the microphone

"Is that you?" The Doctor asked over the radio

"'Doctor?'" Amy asked over the radio

"Where are you? Are the Clerics with you?" The Doctor said into the radio

"They've gone. There was a light and they walked into the light. Doctor, they didn't even remember each other." Amy said

"No. They wouldn't." The Doctor said tiredly

"What is that light?" River asked

"Time running out." Doctor said to River, then to Amy "Amy. I'm sorry. I should never have left you there."

"Well, what do I do now?" Amy asked

"You come to us. Primary Flight Deck, other end of the forest." The Doctor stated

"I can't see! I can't open my eyes." Amy protested

The Doctor used his sonic on the communicator and said "Turn on the spot."

"Sorry. what?" Amy asked incredulous

"Just do it. Turn on the spot." The Doctor said in the communicator

"When the communicator sounds like my screwdriver, you're facing the right way. Follow the sound." The Doctor explained

Amy turned in a circle listening to the communicator

"You have to start moving now." The Doctor stated "There's time energy spilling out of that crack and you have to stay ahead of it."

"But the Angels, they're everywhere." Amy protested

"I'm sorry, I really am, but the Angels can only kill you." The Doctor said tiredly

"What does the Time Energy do?" Amy asked while walking

"Just keep moving!" The Doctor commanded

"Tell me!" Amy yelled

"If the Time Energy catches up with you, you'll never have been born." The Doctor said tiredly "It will erase every moment of your existence. You will never have lived at all. Now, keep your eyes shut and keep moving!"

"Doctor, this won't work." Scarlett said nervously

"What else have you got? Scarlett, TELL ME!" The Doctor yelled, making Scarlett recoil slightly, and River look surprised. In all her time with the Doctor he never lashed out like that at Scarlett.

Suddenly they heard whooshing and clanging

"What's that?" River asked tensely

"The Angels running from the fire. They came here to feed on the time energy. Now it's going to feed on them." The Doctor said, then into the radio "Amy, listen to me. I'm sending a bit of software to your communicator. It's a proximity detector. It'll beep if there's something in your way. You just maneuver till the beeping stops." Then the Doctor said, sounding tired "Because, Amy, this is important. The forest is full of Angels. You're going to have to walk like you can see."

"Well, what do you mean?" Amy asked

"Look, just keep moving." The Doctor said

"That time energy, what's it going to do?" River asked

"Er, keep eating." The Doctor said

"How do we stop it?" River asked

"Feed it." The Doctor stated

"Feed it what?" Scarlett asked warily

"A big complicated space-time event should shut it up for a while." The Doctor said

"Like what?" Scarlett asked, still wary

"LIKE ME!" The Doctor yelled

Suddenly a high-pitched beeping rang throughout the flight deck.

"What's that?" Amy asked into the radio

"It's a warning. There are Angels 'round you now." The Doctor replied

The lights flashed and Amy was surrounded by Angels

"Amy. listen to me. This is going to be hard but I know you can do it. The Angels are scared," The Doctor explained "and running and right now they're not that interested in you. They'll assume you can see them and their instincts will kick in. All you've got to do is walk like you can see. Just don't open your eyes. Walk like you can see. You're not moving. You have to do this. Now."

Amy stood still, scared.

The Doctor banged his hand on the instrument panel and yelled "You have to do this!"

Amy started walking, almost into an angel but the communicator beeps and she turned. She carried on this way until she tripped over a root and falls. She reaches her hand around for the communicator but can't find it.

"Doctor, I can't find the communicator! I dropped it! I can't find it. Doctor!" Amy said, searching frantically "Doctor! Doctor..." The Angels began to move and Amy stood up. One reached for her but she's engulfed in a bright light.

Amy landed and is grabbed by River

"Don't open your eyes." River commanded "You're on the Flight Deck, the Doctor and Scarlett are here."

"I teleported you here." Scarlett said from the instrument panel, then to the Doctor "See, told you."

"Scarlett Williams, I could bloody kiss you." The Doctor said excitedly, and then he blushed slightly

"Maybe later." Scarlett winked, making him blush more and Amy to tense slightly.

An alarm began to blare and River asked "What's that?"

"The Angels are draining the last of the ship's power, which means... the shield's going to release." The Doctor explained.

The shield to the forest opened and there were a large number of angels facing them.

"Angel Bob, I presume." The Doctor said to the angel in front of the rest

"The Time Field is coming. It will destroy our reality." The Angel said without moving

"Yeah, and look at you, all running away. What can I do for you?" The Doctor asked

"There is a rupture in time. The Angels calculate that if you throw yourself into it, it will close and they will be saved." Angel Bob said

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Could do, could do that. But why?" The Doctor challenged

"Your friends would also be saved." Angel Bob retorted

"Well, there is that." The Doctor allowed

Scarlett nodded at River and she ran up "We've traveled in time," River said "We're a complicated space/time event, too. Throw us in. Combined we'll be enough."

"Oh, be serious! Compared to me, these Angels are more complicated than you and it would take every one of them to amount to me, so get a grip." The Doctor said bitingly

"Doctor, I can't let you do this." River said

"No," Scarlett said, with a look of realization "River get a grip."

"You're not going to die here!" River protested

"No, I mean it. River, Amy, Scarlett get a grip." The Doctor smiled

"Oh, you genius!" River said while walking over to Amy,

"Sir, the Angels need you to sacrifice yourself now." Angel Bob said

"Thing is, Bob, the Angels are draining all the power from this ship, every last bit of it. And you know what? I think they've forgotten where they're standing. I think they've forgotten the gravity of the situation. Or to put it another way, Angels." The Doctor said

"You hold on tight and don't you let go for anything." River said while placing Amy's hands on the handle connected to the panel, then grabbing the handle herself, nodding at Scarlett.

"Night-night." The Doctor finished, turning causally as the gravity fails and grabs the handle as the angels fell into the crack.

Out on the beach, the Doctor placed a blanket around Amy while she and Scarlett sat on a rock.

"Ah, Bruised everywhere." Amy complained

"Me too." Scarlett said, knocking their knees together

"You didn't have to climb out with your eyes shut." Amy challenged

"Neither did you, I kept saying. The Angels all fell into the time field. The Angel in your memory never existed. It can't harm you now." The Doctor said

"Then why do I remember it at all? Those guys on the ship didn't remember each other." Amy asked

"You're a time traveler now, Amy. Changes the way you see the universe forever. Good, isn't it?" The Doctor asked

"And the crack. Is that gone too?" Amy asked

"Yeah, for now. But the explosion that caused it is still happening... somewhere out there, somewhere in time." The Doctor said, then walking over to River.

"You, me, Scarlett...handcuffs." River said, lifting her arms "Must it always end this way?"

"What now?" the Doctor asked

"The prison ship's in orbit. They'll beam me up any second. I might have done enough to earn a pardon this time. We'll see." River said shrugging

"Octavian said you killed a man."

"Yes. I did. A good man. A very good man. The best man I've ever known." River said smiling

"Who?" The Doctor asked

"It's a long story, Doctor, can't be told. It has to be lived. No sneak previews. Well, except for this one: you'll see me again quite soon, when the Pandorica opens." River said smiling

"The Pandorica, ha!" The Doctor laughed "That's a fairy tale."

"Oh, Doctor, aren't we all?" River said laughing "I must say, before I go, that you had better apologize to Scarlett, or I will come and kick your arse."

The Doctor cringed slightly and nodded.

"I'll see you soon." River smiled

"I look forward to it." The Doctor said

"I remember it well." River chuckled

"Bye River." Amy said, walking up

"See you later." Scarlett said winking

"See you, Amy. You know it, Scarlett." River said and her handcuffs beeped "Oh! I think that's my ride."

"Can I trust you. River Song?" The Doctor asked

"If you like, but where's the fun in that? " River said, laughing as she teleported away.

The Doctor looked out at the ocean thoughtfully

"What are you thinking?" Amy asked

"Time can be rewritten." Doctor smiled

"Well, I'll be in the TARDIS." Amy said while walking away

"Yeah, I'm coming." Scarlett said, until the Doctor grabbed her arm. She raised her eyebrow and he dropped his hand and muttered "Sorry."

"No problem." Scarlett said "Something you want to tell me?"

"Yeah, um," The Doctor said fumblingly "I'm sorry for yelling at you on the flight deck." He looked down, feeling guilty. He jumped slightly when he felt Scarlett press her lips to his cheek and he turned red when she pulled away and fixed his bow tie.

"What was that for?" The Doctor asked, smiling

"I did say I'd kiss you later." Scarlett said winking.

Neither of them noticing Amy watching from the TARDIS, a jealous look on her face, and a plan in her mind.

The Doctor stood at the console, Amy sat on the jump seat with Scarlett.

"I want to go home." Amy said suddenly

"Ok." The Doctor said quietly

"No, not like that!" Amy said while jumping up and laughing "Just… I just want to show you something. You're running from River. I'm running too"

Amy and the Doctor sat on her bed, looking at Amy's wedding dress. Scarlett had declined coming out, saying that "Amy should do this by herself." And "Don't drag me into this."

"Well!" The Doctor said

"Yeah!" Amy said

"Blimey!" The Doctor exclaimed

"I know. This is the same night we left, yeah?" Amy asked

"We've been gone five minutes." The Doctor said while checking his watch

"I'm getting married in the morning." Amy said while looking at a ring box

"Why did you leave it here?" The Doctor asked while taking the box from her

"Why did I leave my engagement ring when I ran away with a strange man the night before my wedding?" Amy asked incredulously

"Yeah." The Doctor said, completely lost

"You really are an alien, aren't you?" Amy said

"Who's the lucky fella?" The Doctor asked

"Ah, the good looking one or the other one?" The Doctor said while miming a large nose

"The other one," Amy said "Scarlett's brother."

"Well, he was good too." Doctor said, trying to make up for being mean

"Thanks. So, do you comfort a lot of people on the night before their wedding?" Amy asked

"Why would you need comforting?" The Doctor asked, lost.

"I nearly died. I was alone in the dark and I nearly died. And it made me think." Amy said

"Well, yes, natural. I think sometimes. Well, lots of times-." The Doctor said, rambling

"About what I want. About who I want. You know what I mean?" Amy asked

"Yeah" The Doctor said, then shaking his head "No."

"About who...I want." Amy Said, trying to get him to realize what she was getting at.

"Oh, right, yeah... No, still not getting it." The Doctor said confused

"Doctor, in a word, in one very simple word even you can understand." Amy said, and then she practically climbed on top of him. The Doctor nervously pushed her off him and climbed over the foot rail of her bed.

"You're getting married in the morning!" He protested

"The morning's a long time away." Amy said, while pushing the Doctor up against the TARDIS "What are we going to do about that?" She said while pulling down his braces, which he shoved back up.

"Listen to me. I'm 907 years old. Do you understand what that means?" The Doctor said as he pushed her away.

"It's been awhile?" Amy offered

"No. no. no! I'm 907, and look at me. I don't get older, I just change. You get older. I don't, and this can't ever work." The Doctor said while pushing her away again

"Oh, you are sweet, Doctor. But I really wasn't suggesting anything quite so...long term." Amy said while kissing the Doctor again Who pushed her off again.

"But you're human! You're Amy! You're getting married in the morning!" The Doctor said, the realizing "In the morning."

"Doctor?" Amy asked

"It's you. It's all about you. Everything. It's about you." The Doctor said

"Hold that thought" Amy said while lying seductively on her bed

"Amy Pond... Mad, impossible Amy Pond. I don't know why, I have no idea, but quite possibly the single most important thing in the history of the universe is that I get you sorted out right now." The Doctor said, not realizing that Amy thought he was talking about sex.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" May said

The Doctor pulled her off the bed "Come on!"

"Doctor!" Amy said in a flirty tone.

"That was fast." Scarlett said from her spot on the jump seat.

"Scarlett, what's the date tomorrow?" The Doctor asked, confusing Amy to why he wasn't pulling her to wherever the rooms were and was talking to Scarlett.

"Umm, it should be 26 of June 2010-." Scarlett said, confused until a look of realization dawned on her face.

"Exactly!" The Doctor said while pushing buttons on the TARDIS

"I'm sorry," Amy said "I thought we were in the middle of something."

"In the middle of wha-." Scarlett started then she got very quiet "Amy,"

"Yes?" Amy said defensively

"Did you try to seduce the Doctor?" Scarlett asked her face surprisingly blank

"What's it matter to you?" Amy asked

"Maybe because Rory is my BROTHER?" Scarlett asked, no longer passive, but very, very, angry.

The Doctor looked between the murderous looking woman and the very scared looking one and announced "That's it, I'm getting Rory."


	6. Chapter 6

Vampires

"THE LIFE OUT THERE, IT DAZZLES." The Doctor yelled from under the glass, the TARDIS sparking "I MEAN IT BLINDS YOU TO THE THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT I'VE SEEN IT DEVOUR RELATIONSHIPS AND PLANS!" A small explosion went off, and Rory, for lack of a better word, whimpered. "IT'S MEANT TO DO THAT." Said the Doctor absently while watching Scarlett out the corner of his eye stroke the TARDIS and muttering

"Poor thing."

"BECAUSE FOR ONE PERSON TO HAVE SEEN ALL THAT, TO TASTE THE GLORY AND THEN go back… IT WILL TEAR YOU APART. So I'm sending you somewhere together."

"Whoa, what like a date?" Asked Amy nervously, sending a Scarlett a look, who had yet to look at her except to glare.

"Anywhere you want, anytime you want. One condition, it has to be amazing." The Doctor said as he walked up the stairs "The Moulin rouge in 1890! The first Olympic games! Think of it as a wedding present, because, frankly, it's either this or tokens…" he trailed off listening to Scarlett talk in his ear, "SCARLETT WILLIAMS, YOU ARE BRILLIANT!" He shouted and pulled her to him and gave her a kiss on the cheek which brought a small smile to Scarlett's face, make Amy sulk in the corner and Rory have sudden wish to kill the Doctor for kissing both his future wife and baby sister. The Doctor, unaware of his companions reactions, called to Rory while heading up some stairs

"I know it's a lot to take in, tiny box HUGE room inside, what's that about let me explain."

"It's another dimension." Rory said in a rather bored way

"It's basically dime- What?" The Doctor said

"You just earned massive brother points, Rory." Scarlett said chuckling

"After what happened with Prisoner Zero I've been looking up the latest conspiracy theories." Rory said smiling at Scarlett

"I like the bit when someone says it's bigger on the inside, I always look forward to that" The Doctor said glaring at Rory.

"So, this date," Amy said trying to ease the tension "I'm kind of done with running down corridors, what you think Rory?"

"How about somewhere Romantic?" The Doctor asked right before he pulled down the lever.

The Doctor walked out of the Tardis with a smile and yelled to his following companions "VENICE! VENEZIA! LA SERENISSIMA! ISN'T YOU SISTER A GENIUS?" He shouted towards Rory "IMPOSSIBLE CITY, PREPOSTEROUS CITY! Founded by refuges running from Attila the Hun! It was just a collection of little wooden huts in the middle of the marsh, but became one of the most powerful cities in the world." He said while walking around the little market "Constantly being invaded, constantly flooding, constantly… just beautiful!" The Doctor said at his marveling companions "Ah, You've got to love Venice." He smiled at some woman who gave him a flirty smile. "And so many people did; Byron, Napoleon, Casanova."

Then the Doctor got a worried look and checked his watch "Ooh that reminds me, 1580. That's alright. Casanova doesn't get born for 145, don't want to run into him; I owe him a chicken."

"You owe Casanova a chicken?" Rory asked incredulously,

"We had a bet." The Doctor said, in a matter-a-fact tone.

Scarlett chuckled and the Doctor smiled to himself, he had made her laugh.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" A short fat man shouted at The Doctor, "Papers if you please."

"Proof of residency, current bill of medical inspection." The fat man stated

"Here you go fella," The Doctor said while holding up the psychic paper "All to your satisfaction, I think you'll find." The fat man looked in wonderment at the four before saying

"I am so sorry, your holiness. I didn't realize" The Doctor made the sign of a cross in front of the fat man and said

"No worries, you were just doing your job."

"Sorry, what exactly is your job?" Scarlett asked kindly

"Checking for aliens, Duchess, visitors from foreign lands, what might bring the plague." He said with a short bow to Scarlett

"See where you bring me! THE PLAGUE!" Amy yelled at the Doctor and smacked him,

"Don't worry, Viscountess." He said and bowed and she sighed and smiled in appreciation "No, we're under quarantine here. No- one comes in, no- one goes out and all because of the grace and wisdom of our patron, Signora Rosanna Calvierri" The Doctor and Scarlett exchanged a look,

"How interesting," The Doctor muttered "I heard the plague died out years ago."

"Not out there." The fact man said "No Signora Calvierri has seen it with her own eyes. Streets are piled high with bodies, she said."

"Did she now?" The Doctor said thoughtfully, then he ran off with Scarlett at his side and Amy chasing after them, only to be stopped by Rory who said gesturing to the psychic paper

"According to this, I'm your eunuch."

"Oh, I'll explain later." Amy said awkwardly,

The Doctor, Scarlett, Amy, and Rory watched as girls in white veils walked around a courtyard,

"Those girls aren't pretentious at all." Scarlett chuckled, then suddenly a man ran up to the girls and started lifting there veils calling for one named Isabella. The Doctor and Scarlett exchanged a look of confusion; the Doctor grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him.

"Oh… I hate it when he does that." Amy stated, unhappy that he had taken Scarlett with him,

"Will Scarlett be okay with him?" Rory asked uncertainly

"Well, he gets us into a lot of trouble, but he always gets us out of it."

Scarlett and the Doctor ran to the staircase that the man just passed, they hopped on it so fast that Scarlett wobbled and the Doctor, who was standing next to her had to grab her by the waist and steady her.

"Who were those girls?" a blush-y Scarlett called out to the man,

"I thought everyone knew about the Calvierri school." The man said suspiciously

"Our first day here." The Doctor said walking up to the man "So, okay, parents do all sort of things to get their children into good schools. They move house, they change religion." The Doctor continued "So why are you trying to get her out?"

"Something happens in there," the man said "Something magical, something evil."

The Doctor and Scarlett exchanged an excited look

"My own daughter didn't recognize me. And the girl who pushed me away, her face… like an animal."

"I think it's time we met this Signora Calvierri." The Doctor said; giving Scarlett a smile.

"And what have you been doing?" Rory asked Amy

"Well… Running." Amy answered "And fighting, I've been scared. More scared than I thought I was…"

"Did you miss me?" Rory asked; not looking at her.

"I…" she punched him lightly "I knew I'd be coming back." Amy looked down guiltily

"He was right. It blots out everything else." Rory said walking away

"Rooooory." Amy complained, "This is our date." Amy ran up to him, "Let's not do this, not now." She smiled at him sweetly,

"We are in Venice," Rory started and Amy laughed "And it is 1580."

"I Know!" Amy said; laughing, Francesco looked at Amy and Rory walk pass, a woman with a basket full of flowers walked up to him and held up the flower

"Flowers, Signor?" Francesco shook his head and the woman kept walking. He followed after her and walked up to her, she offered the flowers to him.

Amy posed for Rory to take a picture of her when they heard a female's scream.

"What was that?" Rory asked, Amy ran towards it and Rory ran after her. Francesco stopped drinking the poor woman's blood when Amy and Rory came up, he glared and hid himself behinds his ridiculous cape, Rory kneeled next to the woman,

"She'll be okay." Rory said to Amy, who started running

"Where are you? Amy! Come back!" he called after her,

Amy ran after Francesco, she comes to an abrupt stop in front of one the canals.

"You have my daughter, Isabella!" Guido yelled at the guards in front the school, trying to get in.

"You're not coming in, stop there! We've told you-." A guard protested, not noticing Scarlett and the Doctor sneak along the side and sonic the canal gate. Once the two time travelers entered, Guido stopped trying to get in and left.

The Doctor and Scarlett made their way down stone steps, and into a chamber. The Doctor spotted a mirror on the wall

"Hello, handsome." He said while straightening his bow-tie, looking at his teeth, and winking at Scarlett, who rolled her eyes.

"Who are you?"

The Doctor and Scarlett whipped around to see a group of creepy girls standing behind them, they both turned back around to look at the mirror, nothing, turned back around, the girls were still there.

"How are you doing that?" The Doctor asked "I... am... loving it. You're like Houdini, only five scary girls, only he was shorter. WILL BE shorter. I'm rambling." The last bit he said to Scarlett, who nodded.

"I'll ask you again, signor, signora. Who are you?" The creepy girls asked in unison

"Why don't you check THIS out?" The Doctor said, pulling out a wallet, which had a picture of his first incarnation, he looked at it and sighed "Library card." He put it away "Of course, it's with... He's... I need the spare." He complained to Scarlett who rolled her eyes and jerked her head towards the girls.

"Right," The Doctor said "Pale, creepy girls who don't like sunlight and can't be seen in…" He turned towards the mirror, then looked at Scarlett, who had a look of excitement and a small smile

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked excitedly "But the city. Why shut down the city?  
Unless-."

"Leave now, signor, signora or we shall call for the steward... if you are lucky." The girls said while smiling

"Oooh!' The Doctor said as the girls bared their fangs and advanced on the two of them, they ran to the staircase

"Tell me the whole plan!" The Doctor demanded

"That's never going to work." Scarlett said, laughing

"Listen, I would love to stay here. This whole thing... I'm thrilled. Oh, this is Christmas!" The Doctor said, excited while Scarlett pulled him up the staircase.

"Did that just happen?" Scarlett asked excitedly, once they got out of the school and on the other side of the canal "Did we just meet vampires?"

"I think so!" The Doctor said, getting excited and jumping up and down, making Scarlett laugh.

The scene that Amy and Rory saw when they walked up was of the Doctor twirling Scarlett while they laughed and jumped slightly. Rory turned towards Amy, who was frowning slightly, and raised an eyebrow. She shrugged back and walked up to the couple

"We just saw a vampire!" She said while running up, followed by Rory

"We did to!" The Doctor said, excitedly, still holding onto Scarlett's hand

"Creepy girls, night gowns, the whole nine yards!" Scarlett exclaimed, at Rory, who raised his eyebrow and rolled his eyes.

"They were in that school!" the Doctor said, reverting back to puppy mode

"Are you alright?" Rory asked Scarlett, who waved her hand and nodded

"OK, so." The Doctor said while slapping Rory's cheeks "first we need to get back in there somehow."

"What?!" Rory asked

"How do we do that?" Amy asked

"Back in where?!" Rory asked, still in shock

"Come and meet our new friend." The Doctor said, while grabbing Scarlett's hand and running off, expecting the other two to follow.

Inside Guido's house, Scarlett, the Doctor and Amy looked at a map Guido placed out, and Rory sat in the back, next to some barrels.

"As you saw, there's no clear way in." Guido explained "The House of Calvierri is like a fortress. But there's a tunnel underneath it, with a ladder and shaft that leads up into the house. I tried to get in once myself, but I hit a trapdoor."

"You need someone on the inside." Amy said, conspiratorially

"No." The Doctor said without looking up

"You don't even know what I was going to say!" Amy protested

"We pretend you're an applicant for the school to get you inside and tonight you come down and open the trapdoor to let us in." The Doctor said, unimpressed.

"Oh. So you know what I was going to say." Amy said quietly

"Are you insane?" Rory asked

"We don't have another option." Amy said

"Yes we do." Scarlett said without looking up

"We do?" The Doctor asked

"I go in instead of her." She said

"Oh because you're so perfect." Amy mocked

"No," Scarlett said looking up, "Because I have the ability to stave off a vampire hoard. Unlike you…" She mumbled the last part

"He said no, Scar. Listen to him." Rory said, slightly desperate

"There is another option." Guido said, pointing over at Rory, who pointed at himself in confusion "I work at the Arsenal. We build the warships for the navy."

The Doctor walked up to the barrels and sniffed

"Gunpowder. Most people just nick stationery from where they work." The Doctor said

Rory had moved away from the barrels and walked backward into a dead rabbit that was hanging over the fireplace.

"Look, I have a thing about guns and huge quantities of explosive." The Doctor said to Guido

"What do you suggest, then? We wait until they turn her into an animal?" Guido asked, turning to poke the fire in annoyance.

"You know I'd be fine, if it makes you feel better Amy and I could go together." Scarlett said to the Doctor, who smiled slightly, then shook his head.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. It can't keep happening like this. This is how they go." The Doctor said while dropping his head into his hands, he took a deep breath and sat back "But I have to know. Us three go together. Say you're my Fiancée."

Amy felt the tell-tale feelings of jealousy begin to bubble in her again, but she pushed them down "You've got Rory." She thought to herself.

"Why is she your Fiancée? Not brother?" Rory asked, getting a little annoyed with the Doctor's attitude towards his baby sister

"I thought she was his Fiancée." Guido supplied

"You're not helping." The Doctor said, turning slightly red

"I'm not having him run around telling people he's your fiancé." Rory protested

Scarlett turned towards her brother and smiled evilly

"You're right, they've already seen the Doctor, you should do it." Scarlett said

"They've seen you too." Amy pointed out

"Ever dyed someone's hair with washout dye?" Scarlett asked

"I've always wanted to try it." Amy replied

"This whole thing is mental! They're VAMPIRES, for God's sake." Rory said, trying to be the voice of reason

"We hope." The Doctor corrected, a little annoyed he couldn't pose as Scarlett's fiancé, but completely ignoring that feeling

"So if they're not vampires?" Amy asked

"Makes you wonder what could be so bad it doesn't actually mind us thinking it's a vampire?" The Doctor replied

"So, basically, both of our parents are dead from getting the plague. I'm a gondola... driver... so... money's a bit tight... so having my sisters go to your school for special people would be brilliant. Cheers." Rory finished his speech, taking a deep breath, Scarlett (Now With some brilliantly ginger hair) barely holding in her eye roll.

Francesco stepped away from where his mother was sitting on a throne, and up to Amy and Scarlett

"Have we met?" He asked

"I've just got one of those faces." Rory offered awkwardly

"I wasn't talking to you." Francesco said, and looked at Amy

"She's got the same face... which is because she's my sister!" Rory stuttered out

Signora turned to her servant and asked

"Carlo, explain yourself. Why have you brought me this imbecile?"

"Signora, they have references from the King of Sweden." Carlo explained

"What?! Let me see." She demanded and Rory handed her the psychic paper "Well, now I can see what got my steward so excited" She said as she handed back the psychic paper "What say you, Francesco? Do you like them?"

"Oh, I do, Mother. I do." Francesco said while circling Amy and Scarlett

"Then we would be delighted to accept them. Say goodbye to your sisters." Signora said, before Carlo ushered Rory out

"Tell D- Scarlett's fiancée we'll see you see, okay?" Amy called after Rory

"We'll be fine." A red faced Scarlett called after him.

Behind Scarlett and Amy, Francesco bared his fangs.

Carlo led Amy and Scarlett through the school, while the girls of the school watched. He brought them to a room that they would have shared with the girls if they were going to stay there.

"There are clothes on the bed. Get changed and wait here." Carlo ordered

Amy looked around the room and muttered "Blimey. This is private education, then?"

All the girls in the room left, except Amy, Scarlett and one other

"Hey. Hello. I'm Amy, this is Scarlett. What's your name?" Amy said to the remaining girl

"Isabella." She said

"We're going to break you out, but we need to know what's going on. What are they doing? What's their plan?" Scarlett asked, kneeling in front of her and smiled.

"They, um..." Isabella spoke haltingly," They come at night. They gather around my bed and they take me to a room... with this green light and a chair with... with straps, as if for a surgeon."

"And then what." Scarlett asked

"I wake up here. And the sunlight burns my skin like candle wax." Isabella said

A bell tolled and the girls jumped slightly.

The Doctor and Rory sat in a gondola, being driven by Guido, who was wearing Rory's clothes.

"They'll be fine." The Doctor said, half reassuring Rory, half himself.

"You can promise me that, can you?" Rory asked waspishly

Scarlett carried a lamp, leading Amy through the Calvierri School

"We're here." Guido said, and Rory and The Doctor got out of the gondola. The Doctor carried a lit torch, he opened the gate, and went in followed by Rory.

"Right. OK, I'll go first. If anything happens to me, go back." The Doctor said to Rory once they were on the underground staircase

"What happened?" Rory asked "Between you and Amy? You said she kissed you."

The Doctor stopped in front of a wooded door and turned around

"NOW?! You want to do this NOW?!" He asked incredulously, then going through the door

"I have a right to know." Rory said while following "I'm getting married in 430 years."

Scarlett unlocked the grate.

"Let's go." Scarlett said standing up

Then both girls shrieked when they were grabbed by Carlo and Francesco

"She was frightened, I was frightened, but we survived, and the relief of it... and so she kissed me." The Doctor explained while leading Rory through the narrow passage

"And you kissed her back?" Rory said quiet anger in his tone

"No. I kissed her mouth." The Doctor countered

"Funny." Rory said humorlessly

"Rory…" The Doctor said while turning around "Rory, she kissed me because I was there. It would have been you,it SHOULD have been you."

"Yeah." Rory said

"Exactly. That's why I brought you here."

"Another question." Rory said once they started walking again.

The Doctor huffed and rolled his eyes "Yes?"

"Scarlett." Rory said

"What about her?" The Doctor asked tensely

"What do you think of her?" Rory asked, with more tact then one would've expected

"Well she's smart." The Doctor said "And funny."

"Go on." Rory said

"What do you want me to say?" He asked, annoyed

"Just waiting for you to admit you were flirting with her." Rory said with slight malice

"No I wasn't." The Doctor protested

"And saying you'll pretend to be her fiancé is just a platonic gesture?" Rory asked

"I was trying to find a way to get her in here." The Doctor protested, beet red

"If you were only doing that you would have said Brother or cousin." Rory argued

The Doctor, for the second time, stopped and turned around and said "Listen, there is nothing going on between your sister and me, we are just friends."

"Yeah, sure." Rory muttered, suddenly a gust of wind blew through the passage, blowing out the torch, leaving them in complete darkness.

"Can we go and see the vampires now, please?" The Doctor whispered

"Control yourselves!" Francesco ordered as he and Carlo forced Amy and Scarlett done a set of stairs. They entered a room where Signora and the other girls stood.

"You're going to regret this." Scarlett said, the same cold fury in her tone as when they were climbing the Byzantium

"Psychic paper. Did you really think that would work on me?" Signora asked

"Yes, we used something we knew wouldn't work." Scarlett said sarcastically

Then a green light lit up the chamber and Scarlett exchanged a look with Amy.

The Doctor pushed the grate open and started to climb out, using Rory as a human ladder.

"Push." The Doctor said to Rory, and once he was up he pulled Rory up "Come on. There we are. Scarlett, Amy! Where are they? I can't see a thing."

"Just as well I brought this, then." Rory said smugly, pulling out a small pocket torch. The Doctor pulled out a large, flat torch.

"Ultraviolet; Portable sunlight." He explained

"Yours is bigger than mine." Rory said pathetically

"Let's not go there." The Doctor said

Signora circled Amy and Scarlett, who were being held by Carlo and Francesco.

"Where are you from? Did you fall through the chasm?" She questioned, getting only a look of malice from the girls

"Mother this is pointless. Let's just start the process." Francesco said while studying Scarlett's neck

"Hold your tongue, Francesco! I need to know what this girl is doing in a world of savages with psychic paper." Signora said while two of the girls from the school brought forward a wooden chair with wrist straps. "Who are you with? I scarcely believe your idiot brother sent you." Signora said as another girl set a hook into an eye socket "What are you doing in MY school?" she questioned, as a different girl set an IV bag on the hook

"Ok, I'll tell you the truth." Scarlett said "We're from the moon."

Signora laughed and ordered "Put her in the chair."

Francesco forced her into the chair and Carlo fastened the straps

"I'm going to destroy you." Scarlett said in her fury voice

"Oh, make sport of me, will you? Tease me as if I were your dog? Well, this dog has a bite, girl." Signora said while showing her fangs

"Doctor!" Amy yelled, as Signora bit Scarlett's neck

"If we cancel now, we lose the deposit on the village hall, the salsa band." Rory said while sighing

The Doctor opened a chest on the ground, inside was skeletal remains of a human.

"What happened to them?" Rory asked

"They've had all the moisture taken out of them." The Doctor said solemnly.

Signora pulled away from Scarlett's neck, and recoiled when Scarlett looked her in the eyes, chuckled darkly and said

"You're gonna have to do better than that."

"Mother... where you drink from her, may we share? I'm so thirsty." Francesco pleaded

"Of course, darling." Signora said distractedly licking her lips and frowning

"That's what vampires do, right? They drink your blood and replace it with their own." Rory said

"Yeah, except they haven't just had their blood taken, but all the water in their bodies." The Doctor explained

"Why did they die? Why aren't they like the girls in the school?" Rory asked

"Maybe not everyone survives the process." The Doctor explained

Rory walked away, turned and pointed at the Doctor. Anger clear on his face

"You know what's dangerous about you? It's not that you make people take risks. It's that you make them want to impress you. You make it so they don't want to let you down. You have no idea how dangerous you make people to themselves when you're around." Each of Rory's words hurting the Doctor deeply,

"Who are you?" The Girls of the school said in unison, each standing in an archway

The Doctor held up the light as the girls drew nearer

"We should run. Run!" The Doctor said, he and Rory being followed by the girls

"This is how it works. First, we drink you until you're dry. Then... we fill you with our blood. It rages through you like a fire, changing you, until one morning you awake and your humanity is a dream... now faded." Signora explained, still distracted

"Or you die._" _Francesco laughed as he moved a piece of hair from her neck "That can happen."

"And if I survive?" Scarlett said while leaning back on the chair, apparently at complete ease

"Then there are 10,000 husbands waiting for you in the water." Signora said

"Lady," Scarlett said leaning forward and making her voice quieter, forcing Signora to move closer to her "That is messed up." And she kicked Signora on the bulge on her hip. There is a slight electrical buzz and Signora flickered to show a creature with a fish head then flickered back. Signora went to say something but stop when they hear running footsteps and voices from above them

Signora, Francesco, and Carlo, ran upstairs. Scarlett began pulling on her restraints and Amy began undoing them.

The Doctor and Rory ran down the corridor, to be stopped by the sight of Signora, Francesco and Carlo standing in their way.

"Cab for Scarlett Williams and Amy Pond?" The Doctor asked

Amy continued on the first strap when a second hand began doing the other one. Amy gasped but saw that it was only Isabella.

"She bit her!" Amy said, outraged

The girls approached from the other end of the corridor, blocking The Doctor and Rory's escape route

"This rescue plan, not exactly watertight, is it?" Signora said smugly

The Doctor brandished his torch at the girls, making them recoil "Ha ha!"

Amy, Scarlett and Isabella ran down the corridor from the intersecting hall

"Rory!" Amy yelled

"Amy!" He responded

"Quickly, through here!" Isabella said, turning back the way they had come, Followed by Amy, Scarlett, Rory and The Doctor. And being chased by the girls.

"Seal the house." Signora ordered

"Well, they're not Vamps!" Scarlett said as the group ran through the underground stairs

"What?" The Doctor said as he soniced the door

"I saw what they really looked like, they're aliens!" Scarlett explained excitedly

The Doctor chuckled and said "Classic!"

"That's GOOD news?! What is wrong with you people?!" Rory asked completely in shock

"Come on, move!" The Doctor said from the back. Brandishing the UV light at Francesco

"Keep moving! Come on, guys." He pressed

Isabella opened the doorway and ushered everyone out into the sunlight.

"Quickly. Get out. Quick!" Isabella said, stepping into the light and cringing, the Doctor ran back to help

"Oh, Come on run!" He yelled

"I can't." Isabella said, while being pulled into the house.

The Doctor pounded on the door, spasms as the door is electrified, and falls to the ground.

"Is he dead?" Amy asked while Rory checked

"No, he's breathing." Rory said

Scarlett looked back at Guido, who looked down at the ground.

"And so in memory of the children lost to the silence, the traitor is delivered to the arms of those she betrayed." Carlo said to Isabella, who was standing on a plank that extended over the wa

ter, all the girls, Signora, and Francesco watching.

Carlo nodded at a soldier, who started to prod Isabella with a lance.

"Do you expect me to drown? I'm Venetian! I can swim!" She said, not noticing that the water began to bubble "We can all swim!" Isabella said, falling in the water "Something touched my leg." She said, freaking out a little "They're all around me! They bite!" Was her last words until she was pulled under.

"Now leave us." Signora said walking forward

Carlo clapped his hands and the girls left. Signora walked forward and the watered began to bubble again

"Mother! Change your form... or my brothers will think they are being fed twice today." Francesco said from behind her

"Not long now. It's not long." Signora said into the water

Signora walked into her throne room, to find the Doctor sitting on it.

He whistled and said "Long way from Saturnyne, aren't you... Sister of the Water?"

"No, let me guess." Signora smiled "The owner of the psychic paper. Then I take it you're a refugee, like me?"

"I'll make you a deal. An answer for an answer." The Doctor said "You're using a perception filter. It doesn't change your features, but manipulates the brainwaves of the person looking at you. But seeing one of you for the first time in, say, a mirror, the brain doesn't know what to fill the gap with, so leaves it blank... hence no reflection."

"Your question?" Signora questioned

"Why can we see your big teeth?" The Doctor asked

"Self-preservation over-rides the mirage. The subconscious perceives the threat and tries to alert the conscious brain." Signora said chuckling

"Where's Isabella?" The Doctor asked

"My turn." Signora reminded "Where are you from?"

"Gallifrey." The Doctor stated

"You should be in a museum." Signora said shocked "Or in a mausoleum."

"Why are you here?" The Doctor asked

"We ran from the silence. Why are you here?" Signora answered

"Wedding present. The silence?" The Doctor questioned

"There were cracks. Some were tiny... some were as big as the sky. Through some we saw worlds and people and through others we saw silence... and the end of all things. We fled to an ocean like ours and the crack snapped shut behind us... and Saturnyne was lost." Signora said, mourning slightly

"So Earth is to become Saturnyne Mark II?" The Doctor asked

"And you can help me. We can build a new society here, as others have. What do you say?" Signora asked hopefully

"Hmm." The Doctor said, jumping up from the chair, walking up to her and whispering "Where's Isabella?"

"Isabella?" Signora asked confusedly

"The girl who saved my friends." The Doctor clarified

"Oh, deserters must be executed. Any general will tell you that." Signora said, without a care "I need an answer, Doctor. A partnership. Any which way you choose." The last bit said in a very open ended way

"I don't think that's such a good idea, do you? I'm a Time Lord. You're a big fish. Think of the children." The Doctor mocked

"Carlo!" Signora called "You're right. We're nothing alike. I will bend the heavens to save my race, while YOU philosophize."

"This ends today. I'll tear down the House of Calvierri, stone by stone." The Doctor said, Carlo putting his hand on the Time Lord's chest "Take your hands off me, Carlo." He threatened "And you know why? You didn't know Isabella's name. You didn't know Isabella's name." The Doctor said, walking out.

"Attend! Attend!" Signora yelled in the courtyard, the people of the school gathering "The storm is coming!" She started down the steps, her perception filter started to glitch allowing the real creature to show, Signora screamed in frustration.

"Mummy... What's wrong with your perception filter?" Francesco asked tensely

"That idiot half breed must have damaged it when she kicked me..._" _Signora explained "Now... assemble the girls. I have a job for them."

The Doctor examined Scarlett's neck bites with his sonic screwdriver.

"You'll be fine." He smiled at her "Open wide." And he placed a candy in her mouth.

The Doctor shouted slightly in frustration "I need to think. Come on brain, think, think. Think!" He sat down at the head of the table, everyone on either side of him and Scarlett and the other end.

"If they're fish people, it explains why they hate the sun." Amy said, attempting to weigh in, the Doctor placed his hand over her mouth and said

"Stop talking, brain thinking. Hush."

"It's the school thing I don't understand." Rory offered, the Doctor placed his hand over his mouth

"Stop talking, brain thinking. Hush."

"I say we take the fight to them." Guido exclaimed

"Ah-ah-ah!" The Doctor exclaimed

"What?" Guido asked

"Ah!" The Doctor said, nodding at Rory, who placed his hand over Guido's mouth "Planet dies, so they flee through a crack in space and time, and end up here, then she closes off the city and, one by one, changes people into creatures like her to start a new gene pool. Got it. "

"Then what?" Scarlett offered "They live in the water, they can't survive that long on land, she has to do something. Unless she's going to do something to the environment to make the city habitable ."

Amy looked expectantly at the Doctor, thinking he was going to hush Scarlett. But he just frowned and said

"She said, "I shall bend the heavens to save my race."" The Doctor placed his hands on Amy and Rory's heads, making them nod "Bend the heavens... Bend... the heavens... She's going to sink Venice."

"She's... she's going to sink Venice?" Guido said, unbelievingly

"And repopulate it with the girls she's transformed." The Doctor said, looking at Scarlett who nodded

"You can't repopulate somewhere with just women. You need... blokes." Rory muttered

"She has them!" Scarlett exclaimed "In the canal, she said "There are 10,000 husbands waiting in the water.""

"Only the male offspring survived the journey here. She's got 10,000 children swimming in the canals, waiting for Mum to make them some compatible girlfriends." The Doctor explained, then he and Scarlett grimaced at each other "Ew. I mean, I've been around a bit, but, really, that's... that's... Ew."

A loud clattering came from above them, and they all looked up

"The people upstairs are very noisy." The Doctor said awkwardly

"There aren't any people upstairs." Guido said

"I knew you were going to say that" The Doctor exclaimed "Did anyone else know he was going to say that?"

The sound of wood creaking filled their ears

"Is it the vampires?" Rory asked while looking at the ceiling

"Like I said, they're not vampires. Fish from space." The Doctor stated

There was a loud thump and the girls from the school entered the room as others looked on from the window. The humans and Time Lord stood up and the Doctor flashed his UV light towards the girls.

"Aren't we on the second floor?" Rory asked

The girls at the window broke the glass and the Doctor shined the light at them. He then used his sonic on the girls, showing their true forms

"What's happened to them?" Guido asked, disgusted

"There's nothing left of them. They've been fully converted. Blimey, fish from space have never been so... buxom." The Doctor said, turning red when Scarlett gave him a look "OK.." He said switching the sonic off "Move. Come on." The group ran down the stairs followed by the girls.

"Give me the lamp." Guido said from the back, to the Doctor, who handed it to him.

Amy, Rory and Scarlett ran out Into the sunlight.

"Go, go, go, guys! Keep moving, go, go go!" The Doctor said following them

Guido stopped and shut the door, locking everyone out of his house.

"Stay away from the door, Doctor." He said

"No! Guido! What are you doing?!" The Doctor said while banging on the door

Guido used the UV light on the girls while the Doctor yelled

"I'm not leaving you! What are you doing?!" The Doctor tried to use the sonic on the door, but it didn't work.

Guido lured the girls up into the room where they were before.

"Come on. That's it... Come on." He murmured

"Guido!" The Doctor continued to yell, Scarlett started to drag him away from the door, realizing Guido's plan. The Doctor tried to shrug her off.

Guido grabbed a candle with his free hand and backed towards the barrels

The Doctor finally figured out what was going to happen and started to run away with Scarlett

"We are Venetians!" Guido said, dropping the candle in a barrel

The Doctor and Scarlett fell to the ground, pushed by the force of the explosion. The Doctor pulled Scarlett to his chest so she wouldn't get hit by debris.

Smoke and vapor came out of the bell tower school, clouding the sky. Lightening streaked the sky and a storm began.

"Yes!" Signora said while standing on a balcony

The people on the street began to worry

"In sight of the Lord, protect and keep us!" A man said

The Doctor helped Scarlett up and they looked around at the damage.

"Rosanna's initiating the final phase." The Doctor said for Amy and Rory's benefit.

"We need to stop her. Come on!" Amy yelled

"No, no. Get back to the TARDIS." The Doctor said

"You can't stop her on your own." Amy protested

"We don't discuss this!" The Doctor snapped "I tell you to do something, Amy, and you do it. Huh?"

Amy stormed off, and before Rory joined her he said to the Doctor

"Thank you."

"If you think I'm going to go back to the TARDIS you've got another thing coming." Scarlett said to the Doctor, who smiled and held his elbow out for her to loop her arm through. They both ran off towards the sound of screams.

Francesco opened the gates to the school and looked at the sky. Amy and Rory looked out from the opposite side of the canal.

"Oh, my God!" Amy said "What is going on?"

Francesco looked and recognized Amy.

"The sky, it's like it's boiling." Rory offered

Francesco removed his hat and cape, and as Amy and Rory walked off, he dove into the canal.

The Doctor and Scarlett entered the throne room and walk up to the throne. The Doctor began to examine it and he pulled the back off, revealing circuitry, that he starts to sonic when Signora came in

"You're too late. Such determination... just to save one city. Hard to believe it's the same man that let an entire race turn to cinders and ash. Now you can watch as my people take their new kingdom." She said gloating

"The girls are dead." Scarlett said harshly

"You're lying." Signora said, distressed

"Shouldn't we be dead? Hmm?" The Doctor asked while Signora walked away "Rosanna, please, help me. There are 200,000 people in this city."

"So save them." Signora said, while walking away

Amy and Rory made their way through the streets, to be blocked by a completely wet Francesco. Rory picked up some candlesticks and held them in the shape of a cross

"Amy, run!" Francesco swiped the candlesticks and sauntered towards Amy "way, you freak! Don't! This...this... this way, you big, stupid, great... SpongeBob! The only thing I've seen uglier than you is... your mum! No..."

Francesco turned around and looked at Rory; seething

"Did you say something about Mummy?" He asked

Rory picked up a broom and started to flip it back and forth like in an awful low budget action movie. Francesco pulled out a real sword, making Rory recoil slightly. Francesco attacked and Rory, the timid man only just blocked it.

"Careful! Hit him! This way, bring him this way! Rory!" Amy said, freaking out a bit

Francesco sliced the broom handle off, leaving Rory defenseless. Francesco lunged forward trying to stab Rory, who just dodged it, the sword a hanging drape. Rory wrapped him up in the cloth and backed away.

"Ew! You stink of fish." Rory said while walking into the next courtyard

"Well, I'm hardly going to smell of cheese and biscuits." Francesco said, advancing

Rory tripped and fell backwards onto the ground, Francesco leaped, changing form midair and landed on top of Rory.

"Hey! Mummy's boy." Amy said from the top of the stairs, holding a compact mirror, reflecting the light onto Francesco, who exploded into dust.

"Ohhh… Oh." Rory said, completely covered in exploded alien fish dust.

"That was lucky." Amy said as Rory stood "Why did you make the sign of the cross, you numpty?"

"Oh, oh, right!" Rory complained while walking up the stairs to Amy "I'm being reviewed now, am I?"

Amy simply pulled Rory in for a kiss.

"Now we go help the Doctor." Amy said

"Rightio." Rory agreed, dazed

The Doctor and Scarlett looked out of the balcony onto the city below. They looked at each other worriedly and headed inside.

At the main gate of the school, Carlos dragged a sack of precious heirlooms and items from the school.

"Open the gates!" Carlo demanded.

As Carlo fumbled with the bag, Amy and Rory sneaked through.

The Doctor and Scarlett entered through the main door into the throne room, as Amy and Rory entered from the side.

"Get out!" The Doctor ordered "We need to stabilize the storm."

"We're not leaving you." Rory said

"Right" The Doctor said angrily while walking up to Amy and Rory "So one minute it's, "You make people a danger to themselves," the next it's, "We're not leaving you!" But if one of you gets squashed or blown up or eaten, who gets-._" _

The ground began to shake, parts of the ceiling crumbled and hit the ground. The four time travelers fell to the ground, The Doctor, again, pulled Scarlett to his chest. He pulled back and looked her over worriedly.

"What was that?" Rory asked, ruining The Doctor and Scarlett's moment

"Nothing. Bit of an earthquake." The Doctor said standing up, helping Scarlett up, and grabbing her hand.

"An earthquake?" Amy asked, flicking her eyes over the joined hands.

"Manipulate the elements, it can trigger earthquakes. But don't worry about them." The Doctor said

"No?" Rory asked confused

"No. Worry about the tidal waves caused by the earthquake." The Doctor turned towards the throne, turning Scarlett along with him "Right, Rosanna's throne is the control hub but she's locked the program, so tear out every single wire and circuit in the throne. Go crazy. Hit it with a stick, anything." The Doctor headed up to the throne, Scarlett walking with him "We need it to shut down and re-route control to the secondary hub, which I'm guessing will also be the generator."

The Doctor and Scarlett ran up the bell tower, covering their ears, and the Doctor holding a controller, which he connected to the throne, storm device.

Amy and Rory pulled out the wires in the throne, making it spark.

The Doctor held the clapper on one of the bells, Scarlett rolling her eyes slightly**.**

**"**Shut up! Shut up." The Doctor said as it stilled "That's better!"

The Doctor pulled on one of the cables, but it didn't budge. He climbed up on the rail, he slipped and Scarlett grabbed him, helping him get his balance, then she started to climb with him.

Amy and Rory ran into the courtyard and looked up to try and spot the Doctor and Scarlett.

**"**There they are!" Rory yelled

The Doctor opened the sphere on the top of the tower and the two geniuses started at the device, trying to see how to stop it.

"Come on! Come on!" Amy and Rory yelled watching the two dangerously precarious people on the tower.

Scarlett pointed to the toggle switch and the Doctor flipped it off. The rain stopped and the clouds cleared immediately. Scarlett laughed and leaned over to kiss the Doctor's cheek, who turned tomato red.

Amy and Rory laughed and hugged each other.

"You did it!" Rory yelled up at the two that were waving at the street.

Signora walked the quay to the water's edge. She tried to turn off the perception filter, but the device died. She pulled off her gloves and striped down to her chemise. She walked up to the plank as the Doctor ran up.

"Rosanna!" He yelled

"One city to save an entire species. Was that so much to ask?" She said, not looking back

"I told you, you can't go back and change time. You mourn but you live. I know, Rosanna, I did it." The Doctor said, advancing slowly

"I have two questions before I go; that girl, who is she?" Signora asked

"Scarlett Williams." The Doctor offered, confused

"What is she?" Signora asked

"Human." The Doctor said, completely at a loss

Signora chuckled and said

"Tell me, Doctor... can your conscience carry the weight of another dead race? Remember us. Dream of us." And she jumped into the water.

"No... No!" The Doctor yelled running forward, the bubbling stopped and the Doctor sighed. And he wondered what Signora had meant about Scarlett.

In the marketplace, the townsfolk cleaned up after the storm, and the time travelers headed towards the TARDIS.

"Now, then, what about you two, eh?" The Doctor asked happily "Next stop Leadworth Register Office? Maybe I can give you away."

"It's fine. Drop me back where you found me. I'll just say you've-." Rory said before Amy stopped him

"Stay…with us. Please. Just for a bit. I want you to stay." Amy said hopefully

"Fine with me." The Doctor smiled

"I feel like we need at least one sane person to help balance it out." Scarlett said laughing, ruffling her older brother's hair

"Yeah? Yes, I would like that." Rory said happily

"Nice one." Amy said, kissing Rory "I will pop the kettle on."

Scarlett unlocked the TARDIS door

"Hey, look at this. Got our spaceship," Amy said happily to Scarlett

"Got our boys." Scarlett said, sending back a wink at the two men

"Our work here is done." Amy finished walking into the TARDIS, followed by Scarlett.

"We are not their boys." Rory said, scoffing a little

"Yeah, we are." The Doctor said clapping his hand on Rory's shoulder, who noticed that the Doctor was slightly red around the ears. Rory smiled slightly, seeing exactly why the Doctor was embarrassed.

"Yeah, we are." Rory agreed, entering the TARDIS, followed by the Doctor, who stopped him and said

"Rory, listen to that."

"What? All I can hear is... silence." Rory said, heading inside while the Doctor pondered the last question of Signora Rosanna.

Who was Scarlett?

Or Rather:

What?

**A/N**

**So I was thinking, if you have any reviews you would like me to answer prompter than when I upload a chapter (Which is slower than I like) Feel free to message it on Tumblr and I'll answer. I think I have a link on my page to it.**

**I Have also come to the conclusion that all those who commented, are the coolest people ever, and whenever someone comments something nice I have a mini Fangirl. So thank you :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Amy's Choice

In a cottage, that was located in a small, serene, village, a very pregnant Amy Pond (Williams now) stood at her counter, holding and mixing what looked to be cake batter. Amy gasped in pain, and she set the bowl down.

"RORYYYYYYYY!"

At that particular moment, Rory Williams rode into the yard outside their house on a bicycle, looking just like same old Rory, except now, he had long hair, pulled into a ponytail.

"Rory!" Amy yelled from the house "It's starting!"

Rory dropped his bike uncaringly and ran inside.

"Ah, Okay, okay." Rory said rushing to Amy

To find her sitting calmly, eating batter from the bowl.

"False alarm."

"What?" Rory asked, disbelieving

"Well, I don't know what it feels like. I've never had a baby before." Amy pointed out, feeding Rory some batter

"Mmm!" Rory said appreciatively, not noticing the whooshing sound,

"No." Amy said standing up

"I know," Rory said, not understanding "Leaf blowers, use a rake!"

Amy put the bowl done and said "No it's-." She trailed off and moved to look out the window, to see the TARDIS materialize in their yard.

"I knew it," Amy said happily "I just knew it."

The two headed outside quickly.

The Doctor's landing abilities hadn't improved much, he had landed directly on Amy's flowers. The Doctor took a step out, kicking over one of the bricks, then he turned and gave an "oops" look towards Scarlett, who just shook her head, and ruffled his hair.

Yes, Scarlett still traveled with the Doctor. She looked over to him and remembered when Amy and Rory told him they were leaving, he had looked heart broken, and so there was no way Scarlett would leave him. And they were having great adventures such as… like… well she couldn't think of one off the top of her head but whatever.

"Rory." The Doctor called, Rory came out of the house excitedly

"Doctor!" He said, and then he turned to Scarlett and hugged her

"I've crushed your flowers." The Doctor said guiltily

"Oh, Amy will kill you." Rory said, pulling away from Scarlett

"Speaking of her?" Scarlett asked, looking around for the Scottish ginger

"She'll need a bit longer." Rory explained

"Whenever you're ready, Amy." The Doctor yelled, Amy came out and the Doctor's eyes bulged and Scarlett laughed.

"Oh, wahey! Wahey. You've swallowed a planet." He said resting a hand on Amy's stomach

"I'm pregnant." Amy explained

"Look at you!" The Doctor said, blanking Amy "When worlds collide."

"Doctor, I'm pregnant." Amy explained, slightly miffed

"Oh look at you both." The Doctor said still blanking Amy "Five years later and you haven't changed a bit," He moved to hug Amy, "Apart from age and size." He pulled back, slung his arm over Scarlett's shoulders and leaned on her. Amy raised her eyebrow and sent a look at Rory, who shrugged.

"Good to see you, Doctor." Amy said happily

"Are you pregnant?" He finally asked

Amy shook her head and walked back inside, with the Doctor, Scarlett, and Rory following.

The Doctor, Scarlett, Rory and Amy walked down a quiet village road.

"Ah, Leadworth. Vibrant as ever." The Doctor said sarcastically, getting a chuckle from Scarlett

"It's Upper Leadworth, actually." Rory corrected "We've gone slightly upmarket."

"Where has everyone gone?" Scarlett asked, looking around, seeing no one

"This is busy." Amy replied, then seeing the look from The Doctor and Scarlett she relented "Okay, it's quiet, but it's really restful and healthy. Loads of people here live well into their 90s."

"Well, don't let that get you down." The Doctor said, none of them noticing the woman watching them from a window

"It's not getting me down." Amy protested, as she, Rory and the Doctor sat on a bench, and Scarlett perched on the arm rest, leaning on the Doctor to prevent herself from falling.

"I wanted to see how you were." The Doctor said "I don't just abandon people when they leave the TARDIS. This Time Lord's for life. You don't get rid of the Doctor so easily."

Amy looked up at Scarlett who said "We came here on mistake."

"Yeah, a bit of a mistake." The Doctor said, shooting Scarlett a dirty look "But look, what a result. Look at this… Bench. What a nice bench. What will they think of next?"

The group grew quiet, nothing to say and nothing to stop the growing boredom.

"So, What do you do around here to stave off the, you know…" The Doctor said, trailing off

"Boredom?" Amy offered

"Suicidal thoughts." Scarlett retorted

"We relax…" Rory said, the Doctor sending Scarlett an incredulous look "We live, we listen to birds."

"Yeah, see, birds. Those are nice." Amy said

"We didn't get time to listen to birdsong back in the TARDIS days." Rory said

The Birdsong grew louder, and the group grew lethargic

"Oh, blimey. My heads a bit, ooh." He dropped his head in his hands, then he sat back up, the others also nodding off "No, you're right, there wasn't a lot of time for birdsong back in the good… old…. Days." The Doctor finally drifted of and Scarlett placed her head on his shoulder. And the three fell asleep.

The Doctor jerked awake on the TARDIS floor,

"What? No, yes, sorry, what?" He said disconcerted walking to the console, meeting Amy, Rory and Scarlett there "Oh, you're okay. Oh, thank God." He said in relief "I had a terrible nightmare about you two. That was scary. Don't ask you don't want to know. You're safe now." And he went and hugged Amy.

"Oh, okay." Amy said

"That's what counts." The Doctor continued "Blimey, never dropped off like that before. Well, never, really. I'm getting on a bit. Don't let the cool gear fool you. Now what's wrong with the console?" He asked, examining it "Red flashing lights… I bet they mean something."

"Doctor, I also had a kind of dream thing." Rory said

"Yeah, so did I." Amy said,

"Not a nightmare, though, just… We were married." Rory said

"Yeah, in a little village." Amy agreed, the Doctor straightened and looked at his companions in surprise,

"A quiet one, and you were pregnant." Scarlett added, gesturing towards Amy

"Yeah, I was huge, I was a boat." Amy agreed

The Doctor tugged on Rory's hoodie, checking for a ponytail.

"So you two had the same dream? Exactly the same dream?" Rory asked, Scarlett nodded and Amy asked, in an offended tone

"Are you calling me a boat?"

"And Doctor, you and Scarlett were visiting." Rory said dodging the question

The Doctor opened up Amy's jacket, checking to see if she was flat.

"Yeah, yeah, you came to our cottage." Amy agreed

"And we landed in your flowers." Scarlett added

"How can we have the same dream?" Rory asked "It doesn't make sense."

"Doctor, you said you had a nightmare, what was it?" Scarlett asked

"It was similar, in some aspects." The Doctor said awkwardly

"You had the same dream, didn't you." Scarlett said, deadpanned

"Yeah."

"You said it was a nightmare." Rory added

"Did I say nightmare?" The Doctor said, trying to fix what he said "No, more of a really good… mare. Look it doesn't matter. We all probably had some kind of psychic episode. We probably jumped a time track." As he spoke, the sound of birdsong started "Forget it we're back to reality now."

"Doctor, if we're back to reality, how come I can still here birds?" Amy asked

"Yeah, the same birds. The same ones we heard in the…" Rory agreed

"Dream." Rory finished his sentence as the group jerked awake, back on the bench in Leadworth.

During their sleep, Scarlett had slipped off the arm rest and was sitting in the Doctor's lap, she jumped up and the two of them turned red.

"Sorry," She mumbled, the Doctor nodded, and Amy and Rory exchanged a look

"Oh, Sorry." Rory said trying to break the tension "Nodded off, stupid. God, must be over doing it. I was dreaming we were back on the TARDIS." The Doctor stood up and studied Rory and Amy "You had the same dream didn't you."

Amy nodded and said "Back in the TARDIS. Weren't we just saying the same."

"But we thought this was the dream." Rory added

"It could be." Scarlett said, while the Doctor examined the dirt on the road

"No, the dream's fading so quickly." Amy argued

Rory stood up and walked to The Doctor

"Doctor, what is going on?" He asked

"Is this because of you two? Is this some Time Lord thing because you've shown up again?" Amy asked

"Listen to me," The Doctor said in an urgent tone "Trust nothing. From now on, trust nothing you see, hear or feel."

"But we're awake now." Rory protested

"You thought you were awake in the TARDIS too." The Doctor pointed out

"But we're home." Amy said while looking around

"Yeah, you're home." The Doctor agreed "You're also dreaming. Trouble is, Rory, Scarlett, Amy, which is which? Are we flashing forward or backwards? Hold on tight. This is going to be a tricky one."

Amy jerked awake in one of the chairs, gasping. The Doctor gripped a lever on the console and said

"This is bad. I don't like this." And he kicked the console, hurting his foot "AH! Never use force! You just embarrass yourself. Unless you're cross. In which case; always use force."

"Shall I run and get the manual?" Amy asked helpfully

As the Doctor ran down the stairs to the lower part of the console he said "I threw it in a supernova."

"You threw it in a supernova?" Amy asked "Why?"

"Because, apparently, it was 'All wrong'." Scarlett said rolling her eyes

"No mocking me when I'm cross." The Doctor said, wagging his finger at Scarlett, who stuck her tongue out.

"Ok, but whatever's wrong with the TARDIS, is that what caused us to the dream of the future?" Rory asked

"If we were dreaming of the future." The Doctor

"Of course we were; we were in Leadworth." Amy said

"Upper Leadworth." Rory corrected

"Yeah, and we still could be in Upper Leadworth, dreaming this. Don't you see?" The Doctor asked, irritated.

"No, okay, no, this is real." Amy insisted "I'm definitely awake now."

"You said that same thing when you were pregnant."

"And you could be giving birth right now." The Doctor agreed "This could be the dream. I told you, trust nothing we see or hear or feel. Look around you, examine everything. Look for all the details that don't ring true." The he walked to the console and began studying it

"Ok," Rory said "We're in a spaceship that's bigger on the inside than the outside."

"With a tweed and bow tie wearing alien." Scarlett agreed

"And a childhood friend who knows more about time travel then she should." Amy finished, gaining a look from Scarlett that screamed "Got something to say?"

"So what "rings true" isn't so simple." Rory finished

"Valid point." The Doctor agreed

Out of nowhere, the TARDIS powered down, leaving no light except the one coming from the console. Basking them in a haunting green color.

"It's dead," The Doctor said in shock "We're in a dead time machine."

The birdsong flowed through the console room, as the TARDIS darkened, Rory pulled Amy into his arms.

"Remember; this is real, but when we wake up in the other place, remember how real this feels."

"It is real." Amy insisted "I know it's real."

The Doctor and Scarlett stood in the middle of the street, a group of school children pass by while Amy and Rory wake up on a bench.

"Ok, this one is the real one, definitely this one." Amy said while rubbing her hands over stomach "It's all solid."

"It felt solid in the TARDIS too. You can't spot a dream while you're having it." The Doctor said, waving his fingers in front of his face, then looking at Scarlett's hand, instead of waving it he just studied it closely.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked

"Looking for motion blur, pixilation. It could be a computer simulation. I don't think so, though." The Doctor let Scarlett's hand fall as an elderly woman passed.

"Hello, Doctor." The woman said amicably

"Hi." The Doctor said as Rory said

"Hello." The woman paused and looked back, before continuing on

"You're a doctor?" The Doctor asked, in surprise

"Yeah, and unlike you, I've actually passed some exams." Rory said, snarky

"A doctor, not a nurse. Just like you've always dreamed. How interesting." The Doctor said, walking away while pulling Scarlett.

"What is it?" Rory asked, following them

"Maybe it's your dream." Scarlett explained "Your dream wife, your dream job. More than likely your dream baby."

"It's Amy's dream too. Isn't Amy?" Rory said, a tad pathetic

"Yes, course it is, yeah." Amy said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself

"What's that?" The Doctor asked, gesturing over his should

"Old people's home." Amy said, as the Doctor and Scarlett looked at the windows, where the residents looked out.

"You said everyone here lives to their 90s. There's something here that doesn't make sense. Let's go and poke it with a stick." The Doctor said running off

"You better have meant that metaphorically!" Scarlett said running after him, Rory chased after the two, groaning.

"Oh, can we not do the running thing?" Amy said with her hands on her back

The residents of the old people's home were relaxing in the lounge.

"Oh, hello, Dr. Williams." A resident said, and elderly woman looked up from her knitting and said

"Hello, Rory, love."

"Hello, Mrs. Poggit. How's your hip?" Rory asked

"A bit stiff." The woman replied

"Oh, easy, D-96 compound, plus…" The Doctor stopped as Scarlett made slashing motions across her neck "No, you don't have that yet, forget that."

"Who's your friends? Junior doctors?" Mrs. Poggit asked

"Yes, he is." Rory said, a mite smug "And This is my sister, Scarlett."

"Can I borrow you?" Mrs. Poggit asked the Doctor "You're the size of my grandson."

The Doctor obliged, kneeling, and letting Mrs. Poggit put the jumper over her head

"Slightly keen to move on. Freak psychic schism to sort out." The Doctor leaned forward "You're incredibly old, aren't you."

The birdsong began again and the four time travelers fell to the ground.

The four woke up leaning on the console.

"Okay, I hate this, Doctor. Stop it, because this is definitely real, it's definitely this one, I keep saying that, don't I?" Amy asked as Scarlett nodded and the Doctor

"Is the heating off?" Scarlett asked, rubbing her arms

"Yeah," The Doctor said, looking at Scarlett "Put on a jumper, that's what I always do."

"Sorry about Mrs. Poggit. She's so lovely though." Rory said, breaking Scarlett's and the Doctor's eye contact

"Oh, I wouldn't believe her nice old lady act if I were you." The Doctor said, forebodingly

"What do you mean 'act'?" Amy asked, confused

"Everything's off, sensors, core power. We're drifting. The scanner's down so we can't see out. We could anywhere." The Doctor said while heading back to the console "Someone, something, is overriding my controls."

"Well that took a while." Said a voice from the top of the steps, walking down was a Hologram of a short, heavier man with a receding hair line. He was dressed in clothes similar to the Doctor's, a tweed jacket and a bowtie "Honestly, I'd heard such good things. Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming storm. Him in the bowtie."

"How did you get into my TARDIS?" The Doctor questioned "What are you?"

"What shall we call me? Well, if you're the Time Lord, let's call me the Dream Lord." The Hologram said

"Nice look." The Doctor said

"This? No, I'm not convinced. Bow ties?" The Dream Lord mocked, as Scarlett grabbed an apple that she had left on the console and threw it at the Dream Lord. The Apple passed straight through him

"Interesting." The Doctor murmured

"Impressive, for a human to realize I'm not corporeal." The Dream Lord said, sizing up Scarlett, who simply responded by saying

"I didn't realize, just wanted to see how a Dream Lord would react if I hit him with an apple."

"But, Dream Lord, it's in the name, isn't it?" The Dream Lord countered "Spooky, not quite there," The Dream Lord disappeared and reappeared behind the group "And yet, very much here."

"We'll do the talking, thank you." The Doctor said waspishly

"So, Amy, what ya think?" Scarlett asked her friend, who hesitated and said

"Um, Dream Lord, he creates dream."

"Dreams, delusions, cheap tricks." The Doctor said

"And what about the gooseberry here, does he get a guess?" The Dream Lord asked

"Listen, mate, if anyone's the gooseberry around here, it's the Doctor." Rory attempted to argue

"There's a delusion I'm not responsible for." The Dream Lord mocked

"No, he is, isn't he Amy?" Rory asked

"Oh, Amy, have to sort your men out. Choose, even." The Dream Lord said "Then again, who says both of them want _you_?"

"I have chosen," Amy said, slightly miffed at the implication "Of course I've chosen." Amy smacked her hand on Rory's chest without looking away from the Dream Lord "It's you stupid."

"Oh, good, thanks." Rory said, in a slightly surprised tone

"You can't fool me, I've seen your dreams, all three of you." The Dream Lord said gesturing between Rory, Amy, and The Doctor "Blimey, I'd blush if I had a bloody supply, or a real face."

"And me?" Scarlett asked, with a fake playfulness "What can you gather from my dreams?"

"I can tell that you're a liar, even to your closest friends." The Dream Lord said, Scarlett simply raised her arms in a "Guilty as charged" sort of way

"Where did you pick up this cheap cabaret act?" The Doctor said, finally recovering his vocals that he had lost, due to one of the things he had tried to bury deep down had been partially revealed.

"Me?" The Dream Lord said, amused "You're on shaky ground."

"Am I?" The Doctor asked

"If you had anymore tawdry quirks you could open up a Tawdry Quirk shop. The madcap vehicle, the cockamamie hair, the clothes designed by a first year fashion student. I'm surprised you haven't got a little purple space dog just to ram home what an intergalactic wag you are." The Dream Lord said "Where was I?"

"You were-." Rory started before the Dream Lord cut him off as he (the Dream Lord) appeared on the upper level

"I know where I was. So, here's your challenge. Two worlds. Here in the time machine, and there in the village that time forgot. One is real, the other's fake. And just to make it more interesting you're going to face in both worlds a deadly danger. But only one of the dangers is real. Tweet, tweet, time to sleep." The Dream Lord said as Amy, Rory, Scarlett and the Doctor slipped to the floor "Or are you waking up?"

The group woke up in the, now empty, lounge. As they stood, the Dream Lord entered, wearing a suit and carrying X-ray film

"Oh, this is bad. This is very, very bad. Look at this X-ray. Your brain is completely see-through. But then, I've always been able to see through you, Doctor."

"Always? What do you mean always?" Amy asked

"Now then, the prognosis is this." The Dream Lord said as the Doctor sat in Mrs. Poggit's vacated seat, still wearing the jumper "If you die in the dream you wake up in reality. Healthy recovery in next to no time. Ask me what happens if you die in reality."

"What happens?" Rory asked, taking the bait

"You die, stupid. That's why it's called reality." The Dream Lord replied

"Have you met the Doctor before? Do you know him?" Amy asked "Doctor, does he?"

"Now don't get jealous, he's been around, our boy." The Dream Lord said slyly "Never mind that. You've got a world to choose. One reality was always too much for you, Doctor. Take two and call me in the morning." And he disappeared

"Ok, I don't like him." Rory announced

"No one does." Scarlett pointed out

"Who is he?" Amy asked, crossing her arms

"I don't know. It's a big universe." The Doctor replied

"Why he's doing this?" Amy questioned

"Could be 'cause he doesn't have a body." Scarlett offered, the Doctor nodded in agreement and said

"That gets you down after a while so he's taking it out on folk who can touch and eat and feel." And he stood up and removed the jumper

"What does he mean, deadly danger?" Rory asked "Nothing deadly has happened here. A bit of natural wastage, obviously."

"They've all gone, they've all gone." The Doctor said, running and pulling Scarlett out with him

The Doctor and Scarlett, followed by Amy and Rory exited the home. The Doctor watches as some children head into a playground next to some ruins.

"Why would they leave?" Rory questioned

"And what did you mean about Mrs. Poggit's act?" Amy added

"One of my Tawdry quirks; sniffing out things that aren't what they seem." The Doctor said "So, come on, let's think. The mechanics of this split we're stuck in."

"The amount of time we spend sleeping in one world matches the time we spend awake in the other world." Scarlett offered "In normal dreams, time runs different."

"And we're dreaming the same dream at the same time." Rory added

"Yes, sort of communal trance, very rare, very complicated. I'm sure there's a dream giveaway." The Doctor said getting riled up "But our minds-." He gestured at Scarlett "aren't working because this village is so dull! We're slowing down, like you two have."

Amy suddenly grabbed her own stomach and started cries of pain

"Oh, OW, Really, Ow! It's coming!"

"Help her, you're a doctor!" The Doctor said to Rory, neither of the panicking men noticing that Scarlett was stifling her own giggles and giving Amy thumbs up.

"You're a doctor!" Rory yelled back

"It's okay, we're doctors." The Doctor squatted down as if it catch the baby as it fell out and said to Rory "What do we do?"

Amy immediately stopped panicking and said "Okay, it's not coming."

The Doctor stood and said

"What?"

Finally the hilarity of the situation got to Scarlett and she started laughing in earnest while Amy said

"This is my life now and it just turned you as white as a sheet, so don't you call it dull again, ever, ok?"

"Sorry." The Doctor mumbled, Amy and Rory walked off towards a swing set, as Scarlett followed the couple, she yelled over her shoulder

"You should have seen your face!"

Amy and Scarlett sat on the swings as the Doctor walked up. The Doctor stood behind Scarlett and started pushing her swing slightly, until he finally said

"Now, we all know there's an elephant in the room."

"I have to be this size, I'm having a baby." Amy said tetchily

"No, no. The hormones seem real, but no. Is nobody going to mention Rory's ponytail?" The Doctor said, starting to smile as Scarlett chuckled, the raven haired woman gestured for the Doctor lean down and she mocked whispered

"I'll hold him down and you cut it off." The group, excluding Rory, started to laugh

"This from the man in the bow tie." Rory replied

"Bow ties are cool," The Doctor said while watching Mrs. Poggit watching the children "I don't know about you, but I wouldn't hire Mrs. Poggit as a babysitter, what's she doing? What does she want?"

The Birdsong began again and Amy groaned

"Oh no, here we go."

The Doctor and Scarlett stood at the console and as Amy and Rory joined them, Amy asked

"It's really cold. Have you got any warm clothing?"

"What does it matter if we're cold? We have to know what she is up to." The Doctor snapped, Scarlett placed her hand on his shoulder and he sighed "Sorry, sorry. There should be some stuff down there, have a look."

Amy stalked off, annoyed at the Doctor's attitude, and Rory followed. The Doctor went under the space under the console and passed different pieces of equipment to Scarlett.

"I want the other life." Rory said as Amy looked through boxes "You know, where we're happy and settled and about to have a baby."

"But don't you wonder; if that life is real, then why would we give up all this? Why would anyone." Amy asked

"Because we're going to freeze to death?" Rory said helpfully

"The Doctor will fix it." Amy insisted, passing Rory a blanket, who wrapped around her

"Okay, because we're going to get married."

Amy giggled "But we can still get married, some day."

"You don't want to anymore?" Rory said, hurt "I thought you'd chosen me, not him."

"You are always so insecure." Amy said

"You ran away with another man."

"So did Scarlett." Amy argued

"It's not the night before her wedding." Rory pointed out

"We're in a time machine; it's the night before our wedding for as long as we want." Amy said

"We have to grow up eventually."

"Says who?" Amy said, walking back to the Doctor and Scarlett with some blankets

As the couple came to the console, the Doctor passed a gadget made out of kitchen utensils

"Ah, Rory, wind." The Doctor then passed the attached wire to Amy "Amy, could you attach this to the monitor, please."

"I was promised amazing worlds, instead I get duff central hearing and a weird, kitchen wind-up device." Rory sassed

"It's a generator. Get winding." The Doctor said

"Not enough." Scarlett said

"Rory, wind." The Doctor commanded

"Why is the Dream Lord picking on you? Why us?" Rory asked as he winded

The monitor screen beeped and flashed to life, it showed a star-scape.

"Where are we?" Amy asked

"Trouble." Scarlett replied

"What is that?" Rory asked

"A star, a cold star." The Doctor said running to the door and opened them, letting in the blinding light "That's why we're freezing. It's not a malfunction. We're drifting towards a cold sun. That's our danger for this version of reality." The Doctor shut the door and looked at the large monitor on the wall

"This must be the dream. There is no such thing as a cold star. Stars burn." Amy said

"This one could be burning cold." Scarlett offered,

"Is that possible?" Rory asked the Doctor

"I can't know everything, why does everybody expect me to, always?" The Doctor said sitting next to Scarlett on the captain's chair dejectedly,

"Okay, this is something you haven't seen before. So does that mean this is the dream?" Rory asked

"I don't know, but there it is, and I'd say we've got about 14 minutes until we crash into it." The Doctor said

"But you don't need to worry about that." Scarlett said

"Because you two know how to get us out of this?" Rory asked hopefully

"Because we'll have frozen to death." Scarlett corrected as the Doctor put on a stethoscope

"Then what'll we do?" Amy asked, while the Doctor placed the stethoscope to the console

"Stay calm, don't get sucked in to it, because this just might be the battle we have to lose." The Doctor replied

"Oh this is so you, isn't it." Rory said, exasperated

"What?" The Doctor asked

"What a weird new star, 14 minutes left to live and only one man to save the day. I just wanted a nice village and a family." Rory said, before the Doctor could respond the Dream Lord appeared

"Oh, dear, Doctor. Dissent in the ranks. There was an old doctor from Gallifrey, who ended up throwing his life away. He let down his friend and-." The Dream Lord stopped when the Bird Song began again "Oh, no we've run out of time. Don't spend too long there, or you'll catch your death here."

The Doctor rushed up the steps into the ruins, followed by Scarlett, Amy, and Rory

"Where have the children gone?" He asked

The ruins were empty, except piles of dirt and cloth.

"Don't know," Rory said "Play time's probably over." Then he turned to Amy and said "You see, this is the real one. I just feel it. Don't you feel it?"

"I feel it in both places." Amy said defensively

"I feel it here." Rory insisted "It's just so tranquil and relaxed. Nothing bad could ever happen here."

"Not really me, though, is it?" Amy pointed out "Would I be happy settling down in a place with a pub, two shops and a really bad amateur dramatics society? That's why I got pregnant, so I don't have to see them doing Oklahoma." She then turned to where Scarlett and The Doctor were studying the dust "Doctor, what are you doing? And what are those piles of dust?"

The Doctor let a bit dust slip through his fingers, he exchanged a solemn look with Scarlett and said

"Play time's definitely over."

"Oh my god." Amy said in realization

"What happened here?" Rory asked, horrified as the Doctor looked into the village, seeing the elderly walk along the path.

"Them." Scarlett said, nodding at the approaching seniors

"They're just old people." Amy argued

"No, They're very old people." The Doctor said, while the group walked down the steps "Sorry, Rory, I don't think you're what's been keeping them alive."

The elderly lined up facing the park, The Doctor, Scarlett, Amy and Rory walked towards them.

"Hello, peasants." The Dream Lord appeared nest to the group "What's this attack of the old people? Oh, that's ridiculous. This has got to be the dream, hasn't it? What do you think, Amy? Let's all jump under a bus and wake up in the TARDIS." He then pointed at Scarlett and said "Her first."

"Leave her alone." The Doctor said, stopping and looking down at the Dream Lord darkly

"Do that again." The Dream Lord said, not in the least intimated "I love it when he does that. Tall dark hero, 'Leave Her alone'."

"Just leave her!" Rory attempted, but sounded more pathetic than anything

"Yes, you're not quite so impressive." The Dream Lord then turned to Amy and said "But I know where your heart lies, don't I Amy Pond?"

"Shut Up!" Amy yelled "Just shut up and leave me alone."

"But, listen, you're in there. Always wanted to be ginger, The Doctor. But, he's been taking more of a liking to dark haired ladies lately." The Dream Lord accentuated by winking at Scarlett, who made a slight offended noise

"Drop it." The Doctor commanded "Drop all of it. I know who you are."

"Course you don't." The Dream Lord said defiantly

"Course I do." The Doctor said "No idea how you can be here, but there's only one person in the universe who hates me as much as you do."

"Never mind me!" The Dream Lord said, brushing the Doctor off "Maybe you _should _worry about them."

The old people began advancing, the Dream Lord disappeared, and the Time travelers looked on worriedly

"Hi." Rory said

"Hello," The Doctor said "We were wondering where you went. To get reinforcement! Are you all right? You look a bit tense."

Rory looked to one old man and said "Hello, Mr. Nainby."

"Rory…" Scarlett said, wary

"Mr. Nainby ran a sweet shop." Rory said "He used to slip me the odd toffee." Mr. Nainby lifted Rory up by his collar "Did I not say thank you?" Rory asked, right before Mr. Nainby lifted him up and threw him backwards into mud "How did he do that?"

"I suspect he's not himself." The Doctor answered "Don't get comfortable here. You may have to run. Fast."

"Can't we just talk to them?" Amy asked, the elders opened their mouths to reveal an eye.

"There is an eye in her mouth!" Amy said, outraged

The Doctor flicked out his sonic screwdriver "There's a whole creature inside her. Inside all of them. They've been there for years. Living and waiting."

"That is disgusting. They're not going to be peeping out of anywhere else are they?" Rory said,

Mrs. Poggit leaned forward and sot green mist, Rory pulling Amy back and the Doctor pushing himself in front of them all.

"RUN!" The Doctor ordered, Amy and Rory left and the Doctor turned back to the elderly "Ok, leave them, talk to us."

"You are Eknodines." Scarlett said "A proud ancient race."

"You're better than this." The Doctor agreed "Why are you hiding away here? Why aren't you at home."

"We were driven from our pl-." Mrs. Poggit said, cut off by the Doctor

"Planet by upstart neighbors."

"So we've-." Mrs. Poggit began again

"Been living in the bodies of old humans for years." Scarlett said

"No wonder they lived so long, you're keeping them alive." The Doctor said

"We were humbled and destroyed." Mrs. Poggit said "Now we will do the same to others."

"Okay, makes sense, I suppose. Credible enough, could be real." The Doctor said to Scarlett, who nodded.

As they spoke a man came up, pushing his bicycle

"Morning." He said

Mrs. Poggit shot green must at the man, reducing him to dust.

"You need to leave this planet." The Doctor ordered

The Creature screeched

Rory and Amy were racing back to their cottage

"Wait! Stop!" Amy said, clutching a post for support. Rory looked at the elders following them

"After all I've done for the over-70s in this village." He muttered, noticing a woman was standing in front of their door "Okay, this is crazy. She loves me, I fixed depression, she's just a little old lady."

"Mrs. Hammill, we don't understand." Amy said, Backing away when Mrs. Hammill opened her mouth, revealing an alien.

"I'll deal with this one, Chubs." Rory said, as Mrs. Hammill emitted the gas, Rory ran back towards the shrubs. He picked up a large piece of wood, and he hesitated

"I can't hit her." He stated

"Whack her!" Amy commanded

Rory did as his wife said and Mrs. Hammill fell to the ground, and they run inside, pursued by the elderly. Amy collapsed on the stairs while Rory locked the door

"We just ran away." Amy said "We just abandoned our friends. Don't ever call me Chubs again. We don't see them for years, and somehow we don't really connect anymore and then, they take a bullet for us."

"You know them." Rory said while moving the coffee table "The Doctor's Mr. Cool."

The Doctor and Scarlett stumbled along the street, trying to stay awake, despite the persistent birdsong. The two of them pushed inside a butcher shop. The Doctor locked the door and flipped the sign to "closed". The Dream Lord stood behind the counter, dressed as a butcher.

"Oh, I love a good butcher's don't you?" The Dream Lord asked "We've got to use these places or they'll shut down. But you're probably a vegetarian, you big flop-haired wuss."

Scarlett grabbed a key from a shelf and tried to lock the other door.

"Shut up." She said

"Maybe you need a little sleep." The Dream Lord said, the birdsong returning full blast, causing the two to slip to the ground.

"Oh wait a moment." The Dream Lord said as the Doctor and Scarlett struggled to stand "If you fall asleep here, several dozen angry pensioners will destroy you with their horrible eye things." The Doctor and Scarlett stumbled to the hall behind the counter "Fingers in the ear? Brilliant!" The Dream Lord mocked as the Doctor and Scarlett slid down the wall "What's next, shouting boo?" The Dream Lord then motioned for the elderly to enter "Come in, come in! Yes, we've got lots at "Steak" here this week. Lots at steak. Get it?" The Doctor and Scarlett made their way to the second freezer door, still falling as the old people drew closer "Are these jokes wasted on you?"

"Wait, Stop." The Doctor said, while Scarlett reached into his pocket to pull out his sonic

"Oh, I can't watch." The Dream Lord said, putting his hands over his eyes.

Scarlett and The Doctor stood with a great amount of effort, she used the sonic on the door and they fell inside. Scarlett barely having time to lock it before she fell asleep.

The Doctor and Scarlett woke up on the TARDIS floor, Amy and Rory on either side of them.

"Ah, it's colder." Amy said, clutching her blanket

"The three of us have to agree, now, which is the dream." The Doctor said, buttoning up his jacket

"It's this, here." Rory said

"He could be right." Amy said "The science is all wrong here, burning ice?"

"No, no, no ice can burn, sofas can read, it's a big universe. We have to agree which battle to lose all of us." The Doctor said

"All right, wise guy, which one do you think is the real one?" Scarlett sharply, everyone looked at her in surprise "Sorry, I get snappy when I'm cold." She said tiredly. The Doctor reached out and rubbed his hands up and down her arms.

"I think this one is real." The Doctor said, not so subtly wrapping his arms around Scarlett

"No, the other one!" Rory said, fed up with everything

"Yeah, but are you disagreeing, or competing?" The Doctor asked

"Competing for what?" Amy asked

The men looked over and Scarlett said "For real, Amy?"

"What temperature is it?" Amy asked, after rolling her eyes

"Outside?" The Doctor asked, unwrapping himself from Scarlett "Brrr, how many noughts have you got? Inside? I don't know but I can't feel my feet... And other parts."

"I think all my parts are basically fine." Rory said

"Stop it you two." Scarlett said, slapping both of them upside the head

"Can't we call for help?" Rory said, holding out the phone with one hand and rubbing his head with the other

Scarlett took the phone and said in great sarcasm "Yes, because there's got to be someone near, you know, cause the universe is real small." And she hung the phone up

"Put these on, you three." Amy said, throwing the Doctor and Scarlett a poncho with o hole on the top, and she slipped one over Rory's head.

"Oh a, poncho." Rory said "The biggest crime against fashion since the lederhosen."

Amy put one on and said "Here we go!" And she turned to Scarlett "Our boys!"

"Our poncho boys!" Scarlett corrected, ruffling the Doctor's hair

"If we're going to die, let's die looking like a Peruvian folk band." Amy said

"We're not going to die." Rory persisted

"No we're not." The Doctor agreed, checking his watch "But our time's running out. If we fall asleep here, we're in trouble." He started to pace

"It would be helpful if we could split up." Scarlett said thoughtfully

"But the Dream Lord is switching us between the worlds. Why, why, what's the logic?" The Doctor asked

The Dream Lord appeared in a poncho, pacing beside the Doctor

"Good Idea, veggie, let's divide you four up, so I can have a chat with our lovely ladies. Maybe I'll keep them. And you can have Pointy nose to yourself for all of eternity, should you manage to clamber aboard some sort of reality."

The Birdsong began and Rory, the Doctor, and Scarlett began to slip to the floor

"Can you hear that?" Rory asked

"What? No." Amy said

"Amy, don't be scared, we'll be back." The Doctor reassured

"Rory, Doctor, Scarlett. Don't leave me." Amy begged as they fell asleep

"Amy, we're going to have so much fun aren't we?" The Dream Lord asked

"No, Please, not alone." Amy pleaded

Rory awoke on the stairs next to a still sleeping Amy. The elderly broke the windows in an attempt to break in. Rory picked Amy up by under her shoulders and started to drag her up the stairs, apologizing at each bump. He dragged her into a cheery yellow room; he set her down and closed the door. Propping a chair against it and sitting nervously.

The Doctor woke up with a still sleeping Scarlett lying on his chest, his brow furrowed, she had fallen asleep like him and Rory. He then maneuvered her so he could listen to the door, where he heard the aliens screeching outside. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and said quietly

"Okay, where is it?" he opened the door and shot the light bulb, cause confusion, enough that he could run out passed them with Scarlett in his arms.

The Doctor cut through a yard and comes out on a street where a pensioner is attacking a man in an old VW bus.

"OH, Help, Somebody!" The man yelled

"You couldn't live near the shop, could you?" The Doctor muttered to himself, as he pushed past the elder and climbed into the driver's seat "It's okay, only me." He said as he placed Scarlett gently in the passenger seat, the Doctor drove until he saw two young women being surrounded by the elderly. The man slides the back door open and The Doctor yelled

"Get in, get in, get in. Quickly, quickly, over here. Quickly come on, jump in. quick get in now, quickly, hurry up." The women got in the car and the man slid the door shut "Are we in?" The Doctor asked, as he continued on, seeing a young family and they let them in.

The inside of the TARDIS was coated in ice. Amy sat between the Doctor and Rory as the Dream Lord appeared.

"Poor Amy, He always leaves you, doesn't he? Alone in the dark, never apologizes." The Dream Lord mocked

"He doesn't have to." Amy said walking away

"That's good, because he never will. And now he's left you with me, spooky old, not-to-be-trusted me." The Dream Lord reappeared to a chair, in a robe that showed a great deal of chest "Anything can happen."

"who are you and what do you want?" Amy asked "The Doctor knows you, but he's not telling me who you are, and he always does. Takes him a while sometimes, but he tells me. So, you're something different."

"Oh, is that who you think you are? The one he trusts?" The Dream Lord asked

"Actually, yes." Amy sassed

"The one girl in the universe he tells everything?" The Dream Lord asked, standing up

"Yes." Amy insisted

"So what's his name?" The Dream Lord asked, disappearing and reappearing in tweed, squatting next to the Doctor's feet "Now, which one of these men would you really choose? Look at them. You ran away with a handsome hero. Would you really give him up for a bumbling country doctor who thinks the only thing he needs to be interesting is a ponytail?"

"Stop it!" Amy yelled

"But, then again, the same argument applies to you." The Dream Lord said, while Amy's brow furrowed in confusion "Really though, who do you think he would rather have? A girl whose grand achievement of her life is that she's a kiss-o-gram, or a woman who's almost as clever as him, wrapped in mystery and shrouded in darkness." Amy eyes widened as she realized what the Dream Lord was implying "But maybe it's better to love and lose the Doctor. Pick a world and this nightmare will be over. Whether or not they'll listen to you, is a whole other story." And the Dream Lord disappeared.

Amy straightened Rory's poncho, and she looked over at the Doctor and Scarlett. She sighed before sitting down on the stairs.

Scarlett opened her eyes to see a white ceiling, she slowly sat up and looked around. The room was completely white and empty, except for a steel table with two chairs on either side. Then she started to laugh,

"You're going to have to do better than that." She yelled to the empty room, and the Dream Lord appeared on the chair farthest away from her.

"You're very perceptive." He stated

"If you wanted to frighten me." She said shaking her head, still smiling and standing up "Maybe you should have chosen something I don't dream about so frequently." And she sauntered up and sat in the empty chair.

"So, why the blast from the past?" Scarlett asked

"Thought you might actually open up if you weren't surrounded by the people you lie to." The Dream Lord said, leaning forward, chin in his hands

"3 questions." Scarlett said

"Why do you lie? If you told him, he wouldn't mind, hell, he would be ecstatic." The Dream Lord asked

"Because, I'd rather have him like me for me, and not for anything I've done in the past." Scarlett stated simply

"Why did you even go to America in the first place?" The Dream Lord asked

"My mother died, and Rory and Amy shut me out, like every day of my childhood. So I went to university in America and zip-dee-doo-da here we are." Scarlett said, with a slight hint of malice

"Why so much apathy towards-."

"Delta?" Scarlett asked "And her apostles? Maybe because they tried to subjugate me, and tortured me. But I'd like for whatever part of the Doctor's brain you are to know." The Dream Lord sat up straight in shock "That I am nobodies bitch."

"Now, if you'd like to drop me off in one of the worlds, that'd be great." She said acidly

The Doctor pulled the bus up to the front of a church, and the people inside the VW ran out.

"Everybody out, out, out! Into the church, that's right. Don't answer the door." He yelled after them and he started to drive towards Amy and Rory's cottage, when the Dream Lord appeared in a racecar driver's outfit, holding a helmet in his lap.

"It's make up your mind time in both worlds."

"Bye, I need to find my friends, speaking of which, where's Scarlett?" He asked

"Friends?" The Dream Lord asked, ignoring his question "Is that the right word for the people you acquire? Friends are people you stay in touch with. You friends never see you again once they've grown up. The old man prefers the company of the young. And you've certainly enjoyed the company of this young one." The Dream Lord said, lolling his head towards Scarlett, still fast asleep "I can see your dreams, how you hope she won't leave you. But we both know human life doesn't last forever, and human tolerance for you is even shorter. One day, she'll grow up, she'll leave to get married, have a white picket fence with 2.5 children and will laugh fondly when she remembers you, but she won't miss you." And with that, the Dream Lord disappeared, leaving a very distraught Doctor in his wake.

The Doctor arrived at the cottage, he watched the elderly trying to break into the cottage when Scarlett suddenly jerked and woke up.

"Are you alright?" He asked with wide eyes, cupping her face with his hands "What happened?"

"Umm, we were in the TARDIS with Amy and Rory, and the Birdsong started, I fell asleep and here we are." Scarlett said, confused "How did we get in a bus?"

"You were asleep for 10 minutes after I woke up." Then Doctor said, worriedly

"Maybe the Dream Lord wanted to provide you with some dead weight." Scarlet suggested, cringing on the inside at the lie she was telling

"Must be." The Doctor muttered, and then he said "I have a plan." And he ran out of the car ducked behind the bus, closely followed by Scarlett.

Rory was sitting on the floor, cradling Amy's head on his lap, she stirred and asked

"How did I get up here?"

"I carried you." Rory explained "I'm afraid you may experience some bruising."

"Where's the Doctor and Scarlett?" Amy asked

"I don't know." Rory admitted "I want to do something for you." He grabbed a pair of scissors out of a bag and cut off his ponytail

Amy gasped and said "I was starting to like it."

They both turn in alarm when the window squeaked, but it was only the Doctor and Scarlett crawling through the window.

"It's alright, we had to stop off at the butcher's." The Doctor said before falling to the floor, while Scarlett laughed at him

"What are we going to do?" Rory asked

"I don't know." The Doctor admitted "I thought the freezing TARDIS was real, but now I'm not so sure."

Amy suddenly gasped and said "I think the baby's starting."

"Honestly?" Rory asked

"Would make it up at a time like this?!" Amy asked, outraged

"Well you do have a history of." Rory said, before Amy glared at him "Being very, very lovely." Amy cried out "Why are they so desperate to kill us?"

"They're scared." The Doctor said, standing "Fear generates savagery."

A piece of garden statuary came flying through the window, Rory and Scarlett went and looked to see what was going on and Mrs. Poggit hit them both with the green mist. The Doctor hit Mrs. Poggit with lamp as the siblings fell backwards in pain, Amy went to Rory and the Doctor went and stroked Scarlett's hair.

"Rory!" Amy yelled

"No! I'm not ready." Rory said as he began to dissolve, Scarlett looked as her legs dissolved, she looked at the Doctor, and winked with a smile.

"Stay." Amy said, unaware of Scarlett

"Look after our baby." Rory said before both he and Scarlett completely turned to dust

"No, no, come back." Amy said "Save him," She commanded the Doctor "You save everyone. You always do, it's what you do."

"Not always, I'm sorry." The Doctor said mournfully

"Then what is the point of you?" Amy asked, as she began to stand with the help of a bureau, the Doctor went to help, but then thought better of it

"This is the dream. Definitely this one. Now if we die here, we wake up, yeah?" Amy asked

The Doctor nodded and said "Unless we just die."

"Either way, this is my only chance of seeing him again. This is the dream." Amy insisted

"How do you know?" The Doctor asked

"Because if this is real life, I don't want it. I don't want it." Amy said

The Doctor and Amy walked out the front door of the house, but the elderly didn't attack them

"Why aren't they attacking?" Amy asked

"Either because this is the dream, or because they know what we're about to do." The Doctor explained, they walked to the bus and Amy stopped, facing the Doctor

"Be very sure. This could be the real world." The Doctor said, deadly serious

"It can't be." Amy insisted "Rory isn't here. I didn't know. I didn't, I didn't, I honestly didn't, till right now. I just want him."

"Okay." The Doctor passed her the keys and gripped her hands tightly "Okay."

Amy walked to the driver's seat to start the car, and the Doctor walked to the passenger side, the Dream Lord stood there, the Doctor simply got in the car.

"I love Rory, and I never told, but now he's gone." Amy said, driving the car through a fence and smashing it into the front door.

A thick layer of ice covered everything in the TARDIS, including the Time Travelers' bodies. They slowly opened there eyes and Amy reached to clasp Rory's hand.

"So...you chose this world. Well done. You got it right. And with only seconds left. Fair's fair. Let's warm you up." The Dream Lord said, restoring the power "I hope you've enjoyed your little fictions. It all came out of your imagination, so I'll leave you to ponder on that. I have been defeated. I shall withdraw. Farewell." And he disappeared

The Doctor slowly rose to his feet and started working on the controls, while Amy and Rory kneel facing eachother, and Scarlett plopped down on the captain's chair.

"Something happened. I... What happened to me? I..." Rory asked, before Amy pulled him into a hug "Oh. Oh, right. This is good. I am liking this. Was it something I said?" He asked as Amy released him "Can you tell what it was so I can use it in emergencies? And maybe birthdays."

Everyone looked When the TARDIS sound started again

"What are we doing now." Amy asked

"He's blowing up the TARDIS." Scarlett said, conversationally

"What?" Rory asked

"Notice how helpful the Dream Lord was? Okay, there was misinformation, red herrings, malice, and I could have done without the limerick, but he was always very keen to make us choose between dream and reality" The Doctor said before laughing

"What are you doing?!" Amy asked/yelled

"Doctor! The Dream Lord conceded. This isn't the dream!" Rory protested

"Yes, it is!" The Doctor said, happily

"Stop him!" Amy yelled at Scarlett who laughed and said

"Really Amy? Burning cold?"

"Besides The Dream Lord has no power over the real world. He was offering us a choice between two dreams." The Doctor said

"How do you know that?" Amy asked

"Because I know who he is."

And the TARDIS exploded

The Doctor and Scarlett leaned against the console, studying something in this Doctor's hand, while Amy and Rory walked down the steps.

"Any questions?" The Doctor asked

"What's that?" Amy asked, looking at the glittering bits in the Doctor's hand

"A speck of psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karass don Slava. Must have been hanging around for ages. Fell in the time rotor, heated up and induced a dream state for all of us." The Doctor said before going to the door and blowing them out into space

"So that was the Dream Lord then, those little specks?" Rory asked

"No, no. No. Sorry, wasn't it obvious?" The Doctor asked "The Dream Lord was me. Psychic pollen, it's a mind parasite. It feeds on everything dark in you. Gives it a voice, turns it against you. I'm 907. It had a lot to go on."

"But why didn't it feed on us, too?" Amy asked

"Darkness in you three? It would've starved to death in an instant. I choose my friends with great care. Otherwise I'm stuck with my own company, and you know how that works out." The Doctor said, oddly happy for what he was saying

"But those things he said about you. You don't think any of that's true?" Amy asked

"Amy, right now a question is about to occur to Rory." The Doctor said, dodging the question and spinning Amy to face Rory "And seeing as the answer is about to change his life, I think you should give him your full attention." He pushed her towards Rory and pulled Scarlett to the other side of console

"Yeah. Actually, yeah." Rory said

"Here we go!" Scarlett said leaning to look, before the Doctor pulled her so she wasn't in their way, and wrapped his arm around her and gave her a side hug

"Cos what I don't get is you blew up the TARDIS, that stopped that dream, but what stopped the Leadworth dream?" Rory asked

"We crashed the camper van." Amy said

"Oh, right, I don't remember that bit." Rory said thoughtfully

"No, you weren't there, you were already..." Amy trailed off

"Already what?" Rory asked, not picking up on what she was implying

"Dead. You died in that dream. Mrs Poggit got you and Scarlett." Amy explained

"OK. But how did you know it was a dream? Before you crashed the van, how did you know you wouldn't just die?" Rory asked, still lost

"I didn't." Amy said simply

"Oh." Rory said in realization

"Yeah." Amy said awkwardly

"Oh," Rory said taking Amy's hand

"Yeah, "Oh."" Amy joked, Rory leaned in and kissed her, The Doctor and Scarlett watching with smiles, then looking at each other and blushing

"So..._" _the Doctor said while applauding slightly "Well, then, where now? Or should we just pop down to the swimming pool for a few lengths?"

"I don't know. Any where's good for me. I'm happy anywhere. It's up to Amy this time. Amy's choice." Rory said, happier than he had been in a long time.

The Doctor smiled and started to work on the controls, in the reflective bit of the panel he saw Dream Lord smiling at him.

After a relaxing trip to a planet with green skies, Amy and Rory decided they would spend a bit time alone, so the Doctor and Scarlett sat in the console room. The Doctor running around the controls and Scarlett smiling thoughtfully.

"Doctor, you're not taking what the Dream Lord said to heart, are you?" she asked, the Doctor paused and looked at Scarlett, and then without saying a word, he smiled and crooked his finger for her to come. She stood up and walked to where he was standing, he grabbed her hand and Scarlett furrowed her brow.

"What are you-?" Scarlett asked confused, until he placed her hand on a lever, covering it with his own and she paled "Wait, you want me to..?" The Doctor smiled and said

"I could use someone who knows how to fly the TARDIS." And then he pointed at a panel she would have to lean a bit to push "Push that red button and keep the lever steady."

"This one?" She asked placing her hand on it

"Yep." She pressed and looked back at the Doctor, who was very close, with his chest to her back and his hand covering hers and smiled. He smiled and ran to the other side of the console pushing buttons while Scarlett held the lever. And neither of them noticed Amy standing at the top of the staircase, and smiling.

AN:

Sorry it took so long, holidays and all that.

I loved that ending, made me smile like an idiot.

Notes on reviews

To all those who wanted my to update, here ya go ;)

Sherlockianyepguest: You shall see MWHAHAHAH

.1806: 1. Your awesome, you reviewed multiple times 2. You shall see, Although a bit like River


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